5 potential signings who would be perfect for Xabi Alonso’s new look Chelsea | OneFootball

Chelsea‘s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City was just the latest setback in a disastrous 2025-26 campaign, but they’ve pulled off a major coup in appointing Xabi Alonso.

It wasn’t so long ago that Alonso was widely regarded as the most promising young coach in Europe, having achieved the miracle of an unbeaten Bundesliga season and domestic double with Bayer Leverkusen.

But he returns to the Premier League, 17 years after leaving Liverpool as a player, with something to prove after his tenure at Real Madrid only lasted half a season.

Here are five signings that would be perfect for Alonso at Chelsea, without a promising but unproven 18-year-old in sight. Hear that, BlueCo?

Mike Maignan

Robert Sanchez has done a little better this season, but we’re still left with the feeling that Chelsea are conspicuously lacking a truly top-level goalkeeper; despite boasting a small army of options on their books.

Chelsea were hotly tipped to sign Maignan from AC Milan last summer. He was into the last year of his contract and appeared open to the move.

He ended up staying put and signing a new deal, but links to Chelsea have reemerged and if the Rossoneri fail to qualify for the Champions League, that makes a transfer look all the more likely.

The Alonso era needs to start with a front-to-back approach to building a squad that can seriously compete. That starts with upgrading the goalkeeper.

France’s No.1 has been named the goalkeeper of the year in both Ligue 1 and Serie A, and played a starring role in Lille and Milan’s surprise title triumphs in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. Same again in England, Magic Mike?

Marcos Senesi

Tottenham reportedly have first dibs on the Argentina international, who will be waving goodbye to Bournemouth’s supporters when they host Manchester City on Tuesday evening.

But if Chelsea can help send Spurs down, Senesi’s plans surely change.

A proven, peak-age Premier League centre-back on a free? That would make too much sense for BlueCo, apparently. The 29-year-old would be perfect at the heart of an Alonso back three.

Fabian Ruiz

Recent years have seen Ruiz play a key role in Spain winning the Euros and Luis Enrique’s PSG conquering the world. Look up ‘classy midfield operator’ in a footballing encyclopaedia and his picture should be there as an illustration.

But he’s struggled with injuries this season, and he’s out of contract next year. Homegrown wonderkid Warren Zaire-Emery has played more and appears to be the future of the Parisiens’ midfield.

Chelsea boast several quality midfielders, but they lack a player with the ability to get their foot on the ball and help dictate a game on their terms.

Granit Xhaka was 30 years of age when he arrived at Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen and did exactly that. A player in that mould could give Alonso’s project lift-off.

Robert Lewandowski

Sixteen years after that pesky Icelandic volcano scuppered Blackburn’s plans to sign a young Lewandowski, could he finally arrive in the Premier League?

The 37-year-old striker has just announced he’s leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. He called his four years at the Camp Nou “the most incredible chapter of my career” – despite notching hundreds of goals and winning everything there was to win at Bayern.

A lucrative move to MLS or the Middle East appears the natural destination for Lewandowski, and it’d be hard to begrudge him that after an incredible career, but we’d love to see him test himself at the elite level one last time.

Lewandowski had an incredible impact at Barcelona, playing a crucial role in them winning three La Liga titles in four years at a time when the club looked on its knees. A figure like that is exactly what Chelsea are crying out for right now. Think Thiago Silva in the Thomas Tuchel era.

Admittedly, he does appear to be finally slowing down; replicating his best goalscoring exploits is probably beyond him at this point. But as a squad addition, someone who can set the standard in the dressing room, his experience would be invaluable.

Alonso won three Bundesliga titles playing alongside the striker and will have first-hand knowledge of the kind of exemplary professional he is.

It looks likely that Chelsea won’t have any European excursions next season. That’d suit a veteran. Look at Casemiro at Manchester United this season.

And even at this stage, Lewandowski would offer considerably more than Liam Delap (cut your losses, Eghbali) as a rotation/substitute option behind the still-improving Joao Pedro.

Better yet, it would signal a much-needed pivot in BlueCo’s desperately flawed recruitment strategy. Forget “amortisation”. Forget resale value.

Not signing someone who can offer something in the here and now, if only for a year, is something that’s cost them dearly in recent years.

Kylian Mbappe

Hear us out, right?

Elsewhere we’ve gone for free transfers and modest, realistic(-ish) options, such is the nature of Chelsea’s PSR limitations after failing to qualify for the Champions League. But we thought we’d have some fun by including one spectacular wildcard option.

Real Madrid were far from perfect under Alonso – stating the obvious, given he lost his job – but they were considerably better than they were immediately before and after.

Mbappe, in particular, was thriving – looking a prime candidate for the Ballon d’Or and European Golden Shoe, and actually pressing intensely.

You could even mount an argument that Mbappe has produced the best, most effective football of his club career in those few short months under Alonso.

The France international made it clear he liked working under the coach and had no influence in his sacking.

Since then, his stock has plummeted with the Madrid faithful. He’s become something of a scapegoat for their two trophyless seasons and was whistled and booed on his last appearance at the Bernabeu.

The terse relationship does at least open the possibility of an Mbappe exit, which felt unthinkable a few months ago. Not least because it’s almost impossible to imagine him anywhere else, especially a club that can’t offer European football.

Signing arguably the best player in the world would be a hell of a statement from BlueCo and win their doubters round.

Not least that adding a world-class talent would have a transformative effect and be a major leap forward from ill-advised punts like Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho. Being the biggest star in the most-watched football competition in the world would have its appeal for Mbappe, too.

It (almost certainly) won’t happen. But Chelsea feels as likely a landing spot as anywhere else if Mbappe reaches breaking point in Madrid.

Balancing the books to make it happen would be nigh-on impossible, granted, but sending Enzo Fernandez as a makeweight in the opposite direction might be a start.