Chelsea: Alonso ‘deal will be agreed’ as BlueCo agree to shock model change | OneFootball

Chelsea owners BlueCo have reportedly agreed to bend to a key Xabi Alonso demand to land him as their new manager as the move is ‘expected to accelerate’ after the FA Cup final.

Calum McFarlane will lead the Blues out at Wembley against Manchester City on Saturday in a game which could save, or at least put a gloss on, their season.

BlueCo have sacked both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior this season and Alonso is now being lined up to take over at Stamford Bridge. He’s the frontrunner over Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Fulham’s Marco Silva, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and the former Flamengo manager Filipe Luis.

According to The Guardian, the Chelsea players – many of whom were wholly unconvinced by Rosenior and did their level best to force his dismissal from the club – ‘believe Alonso is the ideal candidate to get the team back on track track’.

Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January, but the Bernabeu fallout since has exposed just how difficult a job that is, and the reputation he built through winning the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen remains very much in tact.

The report claims Chelsea have ‘traced Alonso’s progress since the beginning of his managerial career’ and with ‘talks with the Spaniard’s camp moving in the right direction’ it’s claimed that ‘the situation is expected to accelerate’ following the FA Cup final.

Bending to a key Alonso demand

The high turnover of managers at Stamford Bridge ‘has not put Alonso off joining’ but he ‘wants assurances over certain elements’; specifically ‘a say over signings’.

And in quite the U-turn from BlueCo, who have previously operated with the coach coaching and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Steward making recruitment decisions, ‘indications are that Chelsea intend to give him what he wants’.

‘There is a recognition that someone of Alonso’s stature must be listened to when it comes to signings’ and that ‘there would be zero desire on Chelsea’s part to impose players on him’.

After the players downed tools under Rosenior they want a manager who ‘can command the respect of the dressing room and keep strong egos in line’; Alonso is keen to ‘learn lessons from his time at Real Madrid’, when he didn’t always manage that.

The club bosses also believe that ‘Alonso’s standing would be a plus when Chelsea try to convince players to join’ and the report concludes that ‘there is a growing sense within the industry that a deal will be agreed’.