Scholes urges Alonso to replace Chelsea ‘liability’ as new manager told to sanction return of £70m star | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has encouraged new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso to move past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez this summer.

It was recently confirmed that Alonso has become Chelsea’s new manager ahead of next season, and he has a huge job on his hands at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are reeling from an embarrassing 2025/26 campaign, during which they sacked two managers and failed to qualify for Europe ahead of next season.

Having been named manager, Alonso should have more control over transfers than his predecessors and one of his tasks should be to sign a new goalkeeper.

Sanchez’s form has been mixed over recent seasons, but there are certainly far better goalkeepers available on the market. Scholes and Nicky Butt think Alonso will have a “problem” if they do not recruit a new No.1 goalkeeper.

“I think the goalkeeper is a problem there at Chelsea, he’s a liability,” Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

“He can’t play the way they will want to play.”

In response to Butt’s comments, Scholes said: “With the way Chelsea will play, I agree. He can’t do it.

“I’m pretty sure Xabi Alonso will want to play that way, to build out from the back, so he will need a new goalkeeper then.”

“I would get Nicolas Jackson back… Liam Delap is out of his depth.”

Arsenal legend Paul Merson appeared on the same podcast episode and urged Chelsea to reintegrate Nicolas Jackson as an upgrade on Liam Delap.

“I thought Chelsea were in a position where they had a manager who was grateful to manage Chelsea,” Merson said.

“They need a manager who the fan’s are grateful that he’s managing Chelsea and they’ve got that now with Xabi Alonso because he’s a top manager.

“They need players and they need a clear-out. I would get Nicolas Jackson back, I would rip Jackson back.

“I’ve said it before, Palmer made Jackson and Jackson made Palmer. Palmer’s not on that plane [to the World Cup] because Jackson’s not been there.

“Liam Delap is out of his depth and Joao Pedro wants to come this way [towards the midfield] and it closes everything down, he’s more of a No. 10 really.

“A back-three would suit Chelsea because they’ve got Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto who can bomb forward and they’ve got two holding midfielders in Caicedo and Enzo.

“That will suit Xabi Alonso. They could be a good team but they need some experience.”