Xabi Alonso Pushes Chelsea to Sign His Former Pupil at Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso is very involved in planning Chelsea's signings, as he wants to bring in players he believes best fit the style of play he wants to implement at the club. The names keep emerging, but a particularly interesting one has just surfaced, not only for the player's quality but also for his history with the coach at Real Madrid. We are talking about the young midfielder, Arda Guler, who would be one of Alonso's favorites this summer.

Let us recall that both coincided last year at the Madrid club, although it was a somewhat short period for the coach; he was very supportive of the young Turk, who was having trouble getting minutes during the Ancelotti era. Alonso took it upon himself to give him a lot of confidence and considerable responsibility by starting him in certain matches.

The board is aware that several signings the coach wants are often related to personal relationships he has with those players, such as his interest in bringing Florian Wirtz to Stamford Bridge, a German midfielder he coached during the mythical 2023/24 season at Bayer Leverkusen, when they became undefeated champions in the Bundesliga.

Now he also wants to bring in Guler because he is delighted with the Turkish player's technical profile and, above all, sees him as a great long-term option, since, as we recall, he is only 21 years old. It is clear that if they move forward for the player, negotiations with Real Madrid would be too tough, as he is one of the team's jewels and a candidate to start in the "revolution" Mourinho is expected to bring to Valdebebas.

Even so, the player has previously told TRT Spor about the great relationship he has with Alonso, and has even spoken with him privately from time to time despite no longer being on the same team. "The truth is, we had a great relationship. I felt like he had handed me the keys. It was exactly what I was looking for, honestly. Now he has signed for Chelsea. I hope everything goes well for him. Of course, we remain in contact," Guler said.

Although Guler has a market value of €90 million, surely Real Madrid will ask for more than €100 million. In addition, there are many teams interested in the young Turk, so it would not be easy at all, adding to Chelsea's financial situation, something only the owners know, but after the absence of European competitions next season, it does not look good at all.