Xabi Alonso begins Chelsea job as Granit Xhaka bid is rejected
Why Alonso wants Xhaka
Chelsea’s interest in Granit Xhaka offers an early clue to what Xabi Alonso thinks the squad needs: experience and authority in midfield. The club have already had an opening offer of €9.2 million (£8 million) turned down by Sunderland, but The Athletic reports that Chelsea remain in the market for the 33-year-old. The bid is modest by the standards of a major transfer, yet the question is less about the initial fee than whether Sunderland are willing to negotiate at all.
That need is easy to understand: Chelsea received 11 red cards last season. Xhaka, meanwhile, captained Sunderland to seventh place in the Premier League. His record across all competitions in 2025/26 was 36 appearances, one goal and six assists. Those figures don’t describe a prolific scorer, and Chelsea aren’t pursuing him for that. They point instead to a player whose value may lie in his presence, availability and experience of organizing a midfield through difficult stretches.
This is more significant than it looks. A young squad can have technical quality and still lack players who set standards when matches turn tense. Xhaka’s captaincy and his record under Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen make him a plausible fit for that role, though neither guarantees that he’d have the same influence in a new league and dressing room. The numbers here are underwhelming if judged as attacking output; the case for the move rests on what they don’t measure.
Alonso’s role in the pursuit is personal as well as tactical. He signed Xhaka from Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023, and they went on to win an unbeaten Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2023/24. The Athletic says Alonso is driving Chelsea’s interest. That familiarity could help Alonso identify what Xhaka would bring, but it also means Chelsea’s judgment is tied closely to one manager’s experience with the player. If you’re working in this space, that’s the distinction to watch: a trusted former player can make a clear case, while the club still has to decide whether the fit and price work for the wider squad.
There’s a serious obstacle. Sunderland have rejected the offer and, according to various reports, are insisting their captain won’t be sold this summer. Chelsea are also wary of paying a premium for a player approaching 34; Xhaka turns 34 in September. His age makes the length and cost of any deal part of the calculation, especially if Chelsea see him as an immediate source of leadership rather than a long-term midfield option. Sunderland’s refusal leaves the clubs with a basic impasse: Chelsea have to decide how much they value the player, while Sunderland have little reason to accept a bid they consider inadequate.
Xhaka is preparing for Switzerland’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Algeria on Friday, but the available reporting doesn’t explain whether that tournament has affected the clubs’ timetable. The timing may complicate conversations simply because the player is occupied with international duty, though the source material doesn’t establish that as a factor. Here’s the thing: a transfer story can look advanced because a club has made an offer, while the central question—whether the selling side will negotiate—remains unanswered.
Alonso takes charge at Stamford Bridge
The transfer story arrives as Alonso officially starts work at Chelsea on 1 July. The club announced the Spaniard as manager in May, signing him to a four-year contract. That agreement gives him time to shape the team, but the first weeks still matter: they’ll set the tone for his relationships with the squad and the club’s immediate expectations.
Players not involved in the World Cup are due back at the Cobham training ground for pre-season on Thursday, 9 July. Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill are among those Alonso is expected to meet early in the preparation period. Those first sessions will give him a chance to assess the group directly, including how the players fit his plans, rather than relying only on the previous season’s results.
His first match in charge is scheduled for 28 July against Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia. Chelsea’s first Premier League fixture under Alonso is the west London derby away to Fulham at Craven Cottage on 24 August. The gap between those dates gives Alonso a short window to introduce his ideas before the league campaign begins, with the pre-season match offering an early public glimpse rather than a definitive test of the side.
A difficult handover after a disappointing season
Alonso takes over after a bruising season and a public rebuke of his predecessor. Chelsea described their 2025/26 campaign as “hugely disappointing” after finishing 10th in the Premier League, and issued a statement blaming former manager Enzo Maresca without naming him. The club’s wording signals how sharply it wants to distance the new appointment from what came before, but a change of manager doesn’t resolve the problems behind a poor league finish by itself.
The statement came minutes after Manchester City announced Maresca as their head coach for next season. He replaces Pep Guardiola on a three-year contract. Chelsea also said Maresca will pay compensation for resigning in December, amid City’s interest in hiring him. The sequence turned a managerial departure into a public dispute, leaving Alonso to begin his tenure against a backdrop of criticism and scrutiny. A fresh start, then—but one with the previous season still hanging over the club.
What the opening weeks will reveal
The Xhaka pursuit and Alonso’s arrival point to two linked tests for Chelsea: whether the club can add the kind of experience the manager wants, and whether Alonso can give a young squad greater consistency. Xhaka could address part of that brief if a deal becomes possible, but Chelsea’s bid has been rejected and Sunderland’s position appears firm. That said, one reported target can’t tell us how the whole transfer plan is shaping up.
For now, the clearest measure will be what Alonso does with the players available to him when pre-season begins. His past success with Xhaka gives the transfer a credible footballing rationale, while the age and cost concerns explain Chelsea’s caution. And yet. The club has to rebuild confidence after finishing 10th, and the public criticism of Maresca makes results and the atmosphere around the team immediate concerns. Whether authority in midfield can help address those wider issues remains to be seen (and this is the part most people overlook).
A lot depends on what happens next. If Sunderland maintain their stance, Chelsea will have to judge whether the value of Xhaka’s experience justifies a higher offer or whether the same needs can be met elsewhere. The source reporting doesn’t establish which path the club will take. For Alonso, the broader challenge is already clear: turn a disappointing campaign into a team with a more settled identity, starting with a squad he’s only just begun to assess.
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