{"id":967522,"date":"2026-05-17T23:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/967522\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T23:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:12:24","slug":"xabi-alonsos-chelsea-overhaul-could-see-80m-raid-on-premier-league-rival-new-centre-back-and-reece-james-role-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/967522\/","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea overhaul could see \u00a380m raid on Premier League rival, new centre-back and Reece James role switch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xabi Alonso being named Chelsea manager is a message to the players and fans alike.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The key word being \u2018manager\u2019 rather than \u2018head coach\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Xabi<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Alonso has been given a role not seen under BlueCo, until nowCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

Each of his BlueCo predecessors were handed the latter title, but Alonso is different from the outset as he was officially confirmed by Chelsea on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is a message to the players who have been quick to undermine recent bosses.<\/p>\n

Liam Rosenior was brutally labelled the \u2018substitute teacher\u2019<\/a> and Estevao joked he was surprised he had ever been a professional footballer.<\/p>\n

Stars like Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella have openly talked about wanting to join other clubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ON CHELSEA<\/p>\n

Alonso has the pedigree as both a player and manager to command respect in a difficult Stamford Bridge dressing room.<\/p>\n

He won everything as a player for club and country – from a World Cup to the Champions League and multiple league titles.<\/p>\n

Even though things did not work out at Real Madrid<\/a>, he was lauded for delivering the Bundesliga title for Bayer Leverkusen in a remarkable unbeaten domestic season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So talkSPORT has taken a look at what could happen at Chelsea this summer.<\/p>\n

Who could leave Chelsea?<\/p>\n

Despite BlueCo splashing out more than \u00a31billion since taking over Chelsea, the squad is in need of major surgery.<\/p>\n

A left-winger is looking like a must with the Blues already open to selling Alejandro Garnacho<\/a> just one season after his move from Manchester United.<\/p>\n

\"Chelsea's<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Fernandez’s future as a Chelsea player remains uncertainCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

Fernandez has flirted with a transfer to Real Madrid, though the Spanish giants are likely to target Manchester City\u2019s Rodri first.<\/p>\n

City could then turn to the Chelsea man<\/a> to replace their midfield enforcer.<\/p>\n

Players already joining<\/p>\n

Geovany Quenda will head to Stamford Bridge from Sporting Lisbon this summer for \u00a344m.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old could solve Chelsea\u2019s left-wing problems, but could equally play as a left-wing back in Alonso\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

Striker Emmanuel Emegha will also join from fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg, but Joao Pedro is still the man to lead the line.<\/p>\n

Morgan Rogers interest<\/p>\n

Rogers to Chelsea is still one to watch this summer, but the Blues could face competition from elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"Morgan<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Rogers has been a long-term target for ChelseaCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in the Aston Villa star, who could go for around \u00a380m.<\/p>\n

Villa could sell even with securing Champions League football in order to comply with financial rules.<\/p>\n

Established centre-back<\/p>\n

The middle of defence continues to be a problem for successive Chelsea managers and is something they want to address in the summer.<\/p>\n

The Blues wanted Jeremy Jacquet, before Liverpool beat them to the signing in January<\/a>. He will join the Anfield club in the summer.<\/p>\n

There is historic interest in Marcos Senesi, but as it stands he is likely to head to Tottenham Hotspur if they avoid Premier League relegation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Como\u2019s Jacobo Ramon is one to watch, the 21-year-old centre-back has pedigree having previously been at the Real Madrid academy.<\/p>\n

Goalkeeper verdict<\/p>\n

Robert Sanchez is the current No.1, but will have Mike Penders returning from Strasbourg this summer to compete with him.<\/p>\n

Alonso is understood to make an assessment on who will be No.1 when he arrives.<\/p>\n

There is hope that Penders could have a similar impact that Senne Lammens has had at Man United.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Question marks still remain about Sanchez’s position as number oneCredit: GettyAlonso\u2019s formation<\/p>\n

Alonso has favoured a back three over his coaching career, but did revert to a back four on occasion.<\/p>\n

A back three could see Reece James play as the overlapping wing-back on the right or as one of three centre-backs that inverts into midfield.<\/p>\n

Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n

Joao Pedro will still lead the line with Cole Palmer in the No.10 role, but could be forced out wide if Rogers signs.<\/p>\n

Alonso is likely to play with a double pivot that could see Enzo Fernandez drop deeper into a similar No.6 role he played at Benfica.<\/p>\n

\"Xabi<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Alonso have favoured a 3-2-4-1 formation in his coaching career so far\"Xabi<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Chelsea could have a new look side at the start of next season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso being named Chelsea manager is a message to the players and fans alike. The key word…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":967523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[885,6275,9164,101,49256,79,100,2357,16,15,19715],"class_list":["post-967522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-chelsea","tag-chelsea-transfer-news","tag-morgan-rogers","tag-premier-league","tag-reece-james","tag-sports","tag-transfer-news","tag-transfers","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-xabi-alonso"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116592453519099650","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/967523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=967522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=967522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}