Xabi Alonso's "first win" revealed as Chelsea set for major change of direction | OneFootball

Chelsea look to be closing in on hiring Xabi Alonso as their next manager, and other key details have emerged about the imminent appointment.

The Spanish tactician has impressed in his relatively brief coaching career so far, particularly when he won the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen, and he should be a fine appointment for Chelsea next season.

Perhaps even more than that, though, is the news from journalist Guillem Balague that Chelsea’s owners seem prepared to modify their approach slightly and give their managers more control.

So far, things haven’t really gone to plan since Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali took over from Roman Abramovich, with a quick turnover of both managers and players.

Even if there’ll be plenty of Chelsea fans looking into how to buy Chelsea vs Tottenham tickets, it’s also worth noting that there’s been a lot of anger in the Stamford Bridge crowd lately, so those attending may continue to make their displeasure towards the ownership known.

Chelsea could do with a bit more stability, and perhaps a bit more delegating to true football experts.

Xabi Alonso already has big Chelsea win

According to Balague, this may already be the first big win for Alonso as he prepares to take the Chelsea job.

“We are hearing from sources very close to the Chelsea decision makers that they are going to tweak the system to give the manager more voice. That is Xabi’s first win and you are never stronger than when you are negotiating to land in a club,” Balague posted on X, formerly Twitter.

This will surely be music to the ears of CFC supporters, many of whom are clearly not happy with how things have been going this season.

The Stamford Bridge crowd have booed the team off after bad results, while there have also been protests against the owners.

If Chelsea do now change their approach slightly and give Alonso power to mould the team in his shape, that could be for the best in the long run.

There are some risks with that approach as well, of course, but Alonso seems like a good enough manager that it’s worth giving him the keys and trusting him to build something positive for the club in the long run.