Another coach who sat on the Real Madrid bench is being strongly mentioned for London. Chelsea’s board sees him favorably, though so far it has only been an initial contact.
Chelsea is looking for its new coach. Yet another one. Calum McFarlane was surprisingly appointed for the second time so far this year as interim until the end of the season, and in the summer, the leaders of the Stamford Bridge club will aggressively launch themselves after the umpteenth manager of the ‘BlueCo project.’
If a few days ago it was reliably reported that Andoni Iraola, in addition to Marco Silva of Fulham, was clearly among the coaches to the liking of the blue board, now The Telegraph advances that another Spanish coach enters the casting to be the new tenant of the London bench.
Xabi Alonso, currently unemployed after he departed from Real Madrid, is beginning to be strongly mentioned as more than a candidate to be Chelsea’s new permanent coach. The information from the British newspaper indicates that the former Bayer Leverkusen and Madrid player is one of the ideal coaches to finally straighten out Chelsea’s poor dynamic.
It is merely an initial contact, and no one at Stamford Bridge has so far gone further with Xabi Alonso. Even so, in England, they eagerly jump on the bandwagon that the Tolosarra coach would be well received by executives, players, and fans as the head coach in the 2026/27 season.
Betting houses, so extremely common in the British Isles, have also taken note of the supposed interest. However, the names of Iraola, Cesc, or Filipe Luis, the latter without a team after he departed from Flamengo, remain the ones pointed out to occupy the London bench in the near future. Other coaches, such as Frank Lampard, Nagelsmann, or Antonio Conte, are also on a shortlist of options that promise to be very competitive.
While Xabi Alonso is undeniably one of the most attractive coaches among those without a team, his name has been associated on more than one occasion, and quite strongly, with Liverpool.
Everything strongly indicates that at Anfield, if they manage to qualify for next season’s Champions League – Liverpool is 4th, tied on 58 points with Manchester United (3rd) and Aston Villa (5th) – they will keep Arne Slot as head coach on the Reds’ bench. Nevertheless, 2026 promises to be a very busy summer on the benches.
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