Chelsea fired Liam Rosenior last week and Calum McFarlane was able to steady the ship in his very first game in charge of the team since his predecessors sacking as the Blues sealed a place in the FA Cup final.
Having said that, the work behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge is largely focused on a new managerial appointment for next season and beyond with conversations already underway with some of Europe’s most in-demand coaches.
As per Caught Offside, Chelsea have already held initial conversations with Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso, with both managers available to join the Blues immediately upon the conclusion of the season to plan the squad for next season.
Iraola will leave Bournemouth after the current campaign, whereas Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January and has remained without a job since. Both managers are linked with other clubs, such as Liverpool and Manchester United.
Iraola better suited for Chelsea
Xabi Alonso was able to succeed at Bayer Leverkusen, most notably winning the Bundesliga undefeated, but one of the key reasons behind his downfall at Real Madrid was poor man management skills in a dressing room full of superstars.
While Chelsea don’t have as high profile players as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, the dressing room has grown complacent at times. That said, Alonso’s impact on younger players is also not as strong, a key attribute the Blues will consider.
On the other hand, Iraola has taken Bournemouth’s game to the next level with a very robust tactical plan over the last two seasons and also developed younger players with very limited resources at hand, some of whom are now playing for top clubs.
Even though he may not have as much of a control on the dressing room as Chelsea might want their next manager to have, his influence on a younger squad coupled with Premier League experience makes Iraola better suited for the job over Alonso.
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