Is Alonso the Man to Bring Title Back to the Bridge?

Chelsea join Liverpool and Manchester City in having a new manager for the start of the 2026/27 season. Additionally, Manchester United and Tottenham begin the new term with bosses starting their first full campaign at the helm. This represents unprecedented change among the EPL’s biggest teams.

Supporters of all five clubs will be hoping that their new man can guide their team to success. Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso is the only one of the “fresh five” not to have managed in the Premier League before. But might he turn out to be the best appointment of the lot?

A New Era Begins

In total, a record nine Premier League clubs will begin 2026/27 with a new permanent manager. Perhaps more interesting than the nine newbies are the managers who will not be there. For the first time in over 40 years, the English top flight will be without any of the five managers who have defined that period. Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho left many years ago. However, the men who carried the baton, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, are more recent departures.

Who will be the next great Premier League manager? Mikel Arteta is the obvious pick. He already has a title to his name. Moreover, he has experience and stability on his side. Arteta has been in his post almost three years longer than any other top-flight manager. But might it be Arteta’s childhood friend, Alonso, who is best placed to challenge him?

Alonso’s Career so Far

Alonso does not have English managerial experience. He does, however, boast 143 appearances as a player for Liverpool in the Premier League. He scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists. Overall, he made 210 appearances for the Reds. Alonso played slightly more games for Real Madrid. The Basque midfielder then ended his career with Bayern Munich.

With that trio of football giants, Alonso won four league titles, two Champions Leagues and four domestic cups. Despite that impressive haul, it is his record with Spain that is perhaps more impressive. He helped his national team win three major tournaments in a row. La Roja won the 2010 World Cup, plus the European Championships on either side of that.

Silverware alone does not illustrate just what a wonderful player Alonso was. That he won 114 caps for Spain in an era that overlapped with legends such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, plus Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and others, shows what a genuinely world-class performer he was.

Smooth Transition Into the Dugout

Spain has long had a knack of creating hugely intelligent midfield generals that read the game so brilliantly. La Roja’s midfield was so good in the 2000 and 2010s that Arteta, a top Premier League performer, could not even win a single cap. Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo are the latest off the Spanish conveyor belt. Such football intelligence makes the transition to management a smooth one.

Arteta has done it, and Fabregas has made a brilliant start to his managerial life with Como in Italy. However, Alonso is the furthest down his post-playing career. Still just 44, the same age as Arteta, he has already won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. He took over with the Germans second from bottom and guided them to a sixth-place finish.

The following season, in 2023/24, he led them to a league and cup double. It was almost a treble, but they lost for the first time all season in the final of the Europa League. Even so, Alonso oversaw a record-breaking run of 51 games without defeat.

To beat Bayern Munich to the league title was some achievement. Despite overtures from some huge clubs, Alonso opted to stay with Leverkusen in 2024/25. They had a good season but finished second in the league.

Real Return Beckons

Alonso then left to join Real Madrid. He replaced Carlo Ancelotti, who had been his manager at both Bayern and, before that, Madrid. He started superbly at the Bernabeu and won Manager of the Month in August. His side won their first seven league games. They extended that record to 10 wins out of 11, including a 2-1 win over Barca. Real were top of the league in late November, but patience is thin with Los Blancos.

They parted ways with Alonso in January “by mutual consent” after losing to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. The Basque had fallen out with Vinicius Jr and, with other issues behind the scenes, he was allowed to leave. He departed after less than seven months, despite winning more than 70% of his games. It was clear he would not be out of work for too long.

As a former player, it was thought Alonso would join Liverpool. However, while the Reds dallied, Chelsea swooped. The Merseysiders would appoint another 44-year-old Basque, Andoni Iraola, but should Alonso succeed at Stamford Bridge, it will certainly be hard to take for Liverpool supporters, who consider the new Chelsea boss one of their own.

What Should Blues Expect from Alonso the Manager?

Alonso has worked with a huge number of the greatest managers of the modern era. He has learnt much from them all. His former coaches include Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez and, with Spain, Vicente Del Bosque and Luis Aragones.

He has the tactical understanding of Pep and Rafa, the man-management skills of Ancelotti and the steel, when needed, of Mourinho. In terms of formation, it will be interesting to see how he sets the Blues up. He used wingbacks a lot with Leverkusen but has opted for 4-2-3-1 thus far with Chelsea. How Morgan Rodgers and Cole Palmer work in that formation is unclear. However, Alonso has transformed players before, so it would not be a surprise to see the Blues play with a false nine. Alternatively, perhaps he sees Rodgers in a deeper role, or out wide.

Whatever formation his club play, pressing, width and control of the ball will all be key. Alonso blends some of the structured passing patterns of Guardiola with a slightly less ordered, more flexible style of play. Tactically, he is very fluid and requires players to think and change within games both according to his instruction and also by assessing the games themselves.

Football Intelligence and Leadership

This understanding of football is a very Spanish, and particularly Basque, quality. Alonso played on the same side as a child as Arteta, and the two were friends. Clearly, they share a great love and above all understanding of football. The latter is hard to teach unless a player has grown up with suitable coaching or has great natural aptitude.

Much as his sides use great width, the centre of the pitch is always the most important area. He also places a big emphasis on standards and discipline. This might explain why the Blues tried to sign his former player Granit Xhaka. The Sunderland general is a leader on and off the pitch. They could not sign the Swiss player, but a move for Jordan Henderson is based on the same logic, even if the England man offers less in a playing sense at the age of 36. Alonso has also brought the experienced Danny Welbeck to Stamford Bridge. Welbeck is an intelligent player and can set the standards, alongside Henderson, in training. Overall, 2026/27 promises to be an exciting season for Chelsea.