Chelsea are searching for a new head coach after parting ways with Liam Rosenior and have reportedly identified Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso as a strong candidatee
Xabi Alonso is reportedly willing to take charge at Chelsea this summer amid reports linking him with Liverpool. The Spaniard, who left Real Madrid in January, features on the shortlist as the Blues search for a long-term successor to Liam Rosenior.
Chelsea have entered into discussions with Alonso’s representatives. The Athletic reports that the 44-year-old is keen on the prospect.
Rosenior lasted just 106 days at Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca’s replacement, paying the price for a dreadful run of results that looks likely to deny Chelsea a Champions League spot. Yet that has seemingly done little to dampen Alonso’s interest in the Stamford Bridge post.
However, it remains far from guaranteed that the London club will confirm the former Liverpool midfielder as their preferred candidate. Alonso is one of six names on the shortlist, alongside Cesc Fabregas, Oliver Glasner, Filipe Luis, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva.
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Glasner will depart UEFA Conference League finalists Crystal Palace at the conclusion of the campaign. Iraola is also leaving Bournemouth this summer despite the prospect of guiding them into the Champions League.
At present, there is no definitive decision on who Chelsea’s first-choice candidate is to fill the vacancy. Alonso famously led Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden Bundesliga title during a remarkable unbeaten 2023-24 campaign, which also yielded the DFB Pokal and a Europa League final appearance, where they fell to Atalanta.
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Alonso has been linked with a return to Liverpool amid the talk over Arne Slot’s future at Anfield, and there have been claims that they are already in contact with his representatives. Slot is under mounting pressure at Anfield and heard audible jeers during Saturday’s match against Chelsea.
The Blues plan to have a new head coach in place by mid-June. Regardless of whether they secure Champions League qualification, the club are gearing up for a busy summer and intend to recruit at least a new centre-back, central midfielder and left-sided winger.
For the moment, the Blues are concentrating on appointing their next manager. Fabregas is determined to remain at Como, having delivered Champions League football for the Serie A side, while Iraola and Glasner will have plenty of alternatives available. Silva is also out of contract this summer, though Fulham have tabled a three-year offer to keep him.
Liverpool, meanwhile, say they maintain complete confidence in the title-winning Dutchman Slot, but there is increasing unrest amongst the support.
Alonso’s links to the Liverpool job date back to Jurgen Klopp’s announcement that he would be leaving, yet it was Slot who ultimately landed the position. Alonso is said to have turned down approaches from his former club before securing the Real Madrid post in the summer of 2025.
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“At that time, I was focused, I had a big thing with the Leverkusen players, and we were really focused on that,” Alonso later explained when asked about rejecting Liverpool. He said in another interview: “All these decisions, they need to be thorough.
“You need to really think about them, and it was more about what I had, not what I’m missing. For sure, my bond with Liverpool is there, and it’s still there, so there’s not any kind of issue with that.”
