Xabi Alonso being considered for Chelsea job

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There is a name in the frame for the Chelsea manager’s job that will generate a very particular reaction among Liverpool supporters, and it has nothing to do with the Blues.Xabi Alonso, the former Real Madrid manager who was sacked at the Bernabeu following a disastrous second half of the season, is among the candidates Chelsea are considering as they search for a permanent replacement for the dismissed Liam Rosenior, as per The Telegraph.For Liverpool fans, that name has carried a very specific weight for the better part of eighteen months.Alonso’s links to Liverpool run deep.He spent five years at Anfield between 2004 and 2009, making 210 appearances and scoring 19 goals from central midfield, and is regarded as one of the finest players to represent the club in the modern era.His famous long-range equaliser in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul remains one of the most iconic moments in Liverpool’s history.When he moved into management, first transforming Bayer Leverkusen into genuine champions and then taking the job at Real Madrid, Liverpool supporters tracked his progress with the kind of anticipation usually reserved for transfer rumours.At Leverkusen, Alonso’s record was extraordinary.He guided the club to their first ever Bundesliga title in 2023/24, finishing the league season unbeaten across 34 games: 28 wins and 6 draws, and also reaching the Europa League final.It was one of the most impressive managerial debut seasons in European football in recent memory and immediately established him as one of the most coveted coaches on the continent.Real Madrid moved for him, and he took charge at the Bernabeu with enormous expectations attached.Those expectations were not met and he was sacked.That availability is precisely what has Chelsea’s interest now.The English club sacked Rosenior after a run of poor results, with interim manager Calum McFarlane stepping in and guiding the side to an FA Cup final victory over Leeds United at the weekend.Chelsea sit eighth in the Premier League on 48 points and are realistically out of the Champions League race, making the summer appointment one of the most significant decisions the club’s ownership will make.Alonso is not the only candidate Chelsea are considering, and the list alongside him is genuinely strong.Th report read, “Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Xabi Alonso are among the managers Chelsea will make checks on as they work to identify a preferred candidate to permanently replace Liam Rosenior as head coach.”“Chelsea are in the early stages of working towards finding the right man to replace Rosenior and several names are said to be under consideration at this stage.”Andoni Iraola, who has confirmed he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, is firmly in the picture.The Spaniard has done outstanding work at Bournemouth, guiding a club with limited resources to seventh place on 49 points this season and building a reputation for high-intensity, tactically sophisticated football that has caught attention across Europe.Notably, Iraola and Alonso share the same representation, which may simplify Chelsea’s early conversations considerably.Marco Silva is also under consideration.The Fulham manager has yet to sign a new contract at Craven Cottage, leaving his future genuinely uncertain, and his track record of developing players and building organised, attack-minded teams in the Premier League makes him a credible option.Fulham sit tenth this season on 48 points, and Silva has consistently outperformed expectations with limited resources.Chelsea’s sporting directors are leading the process and will report findings to co-owner Behdad Eghbali, who was present at the FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds.For Liverpool supporters monitoring the situation, the Alonso angle is the one that matters most.With Arne Slot’s future at Anfield still not entirely settled despite recent improvements, the idea of Alonso landing at Stamford Bridge rather than eventually arriving at Anfield is a scenario many on Merseyside will be watching with considerable unease.