Chelsea: Xabi Alonso stance opens door as appointment hinges on one condition; alternative named | OneFootball

According to reports, Xabi Alonso is ‘interested’ in joining Chelsea, but there is a rather substantial stumbling block in the way.

Chelsea are in the process of appointing a new head coach following the dismissal of Liam Rosenior, whose position quickly became untenable at Stamford Bridge.

For now, the Blues have attempted to raise morale by making Calum McFarlane their interim boss until the summer, but he will inevitably be replaced ahead of next season.

The Premier League giants have become a basket case under BlueCo’s ownership, but they remain a tempting proposition for clubs with their immense resources.

So, they will still be able to attract some of the world’s leading managers to Stamford Bridge, and Alonso is among their options.

Alonso, who has also been linked with Liverpool and Manchester City, has been out of work since his disastrous reign at Real Madrid ended in January, but he retains a strong reputation after previously doing a superb job at Bayer Leverkusen.

And Chelsea reporter Simon Phillips claims Alonso is ‘interested’ in joining Chelsea, but a ‘sticking point’ is that he wants more control over transfers than previous managers have had under BlueCo. So, that’s not happening then…

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Who could Chelsea appoint instead?

This is an issue that the Blues will likely face while holding talks with other managers of Alonso’s calibre in the coming weeks/months, but there are alternatives on the market.

Earlier this week, we reported that Chelsea’s hierarchy have ‘deeply discussed’ the appointment of Porto boss Francesco Farioli, who has a remarkable winning percentage of 74% in his current role.

This makes him a ‘strong contender’ to be Chelsea’s next permanent boss, but other candidates include Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Cesc Fabregas.

We previously reported that Matthias Jaissle has been brought up in Chelsea’s extensive search for a new manager, and he is one of five candidates to succeed Rosenior.

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, who could be out of work soon, is not a reported Chelsea target, but Paul Merson has explained why they should appoint him.

Merson said on Sky Sports: “I hear a few Newcastle fans saying Eddie Howe is under pressure. I’d take Eddie Howe.

“My problem is at Chelsea now and the way it is and the way it’s all run, I think they’ll be getting a manager who is grateful to be managing Chelsea, instead of a top drawer manager.

“The days of your Mourinho, Contes, Tuchels, Ancelotti’s those top, top managers where the club are grateful for them being the manager of the club.

“I think now they’re looking at managers who are grateful to come in and manage Chelsea because of the way they run the club and the way it is.

“Iraola is a very good manager at Bournemouth, but these kinds of managers will come in and look and go Chelsea have been outrun in every single Premier League game this season. How do you turn that around

“This is not an ageing football team this is one of the youngest teams in the Premier League. For them to get outrun in every single game and top, top manangers will look at that and think there is a lot to be done.

“They need a couple of experienced players and a few who shouldn’t be there. This is a big, big job and I’m not sure one of the big boys will take it.”