Chelsea have begun contacting prospective managerial candidates as they move to appoint the club's next permanent head coach, and Xabi Alonso is among the names on their list.
The move comes as the club works through a crowded field that also includes Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner, with former Flamengo coach Filipe Luis and Como boss Cesc Fabregas understood to have admirers at Stamford Bridge. The vacancy followed the sacking of Liam Rosenior last month, the fourth permanent head coach role Chelsea have had to fill since the 2023-24 season began.
Numbers matter here: Chelsea hope to have a new head coach in place well before pre-season training begins in early July, a tight window for identifying, interviewing and agreeing terms with multiple candidates. Alonso, who left his role as Real Madrid manager in January, is known to be optimistic about his chances of getting the job, and sources at Chelsea say the race remains wide open.
Several practical facts shape the club's search. Iraola has confirmed he will depart Bournemouth at the end of the season and, by then, will be available without compensation; Glasner is set to leave Crystal Palace when his contract expires this summer; Silva's contract at Fulham expires this summer; and several of the linked candidates are expected to be available because they will be out of work or leaving their clubs by season's end. Those availability factors are central to Chelsea's timetable.
That timetable is the context: Chelsea are seeking a permanent head coach after Liam Rosenior's dismissal, and the club sees an advantage in candidates who can join without transfer-style compensation. The names under consideration include managers with recent Premier League experience and figures with previous ties to the club, which explains the breadth of contacts being made at this stage.
The friction in the search is immediate. Iraola is reported to be Crystal Palace's first-choice replacement for Glasner and has already held extensive talks with Palace, yet he is taking time to weigh up his future amid interest from both Palace and Chelsea and has also indicated he is open to going into next season without a club. Marco Silva, meanwhile, has been offered a three-year deal to stay at Fulham, even as he is out of contract this summer. Those competing priorities — domestic offers for candidates and Chelsea's compressed deadline — complicate what the club says is an open process.
Sources at Chelsea insist no candidate has been settled on and that the list remains under active consideration. That stance leaves room for a few different outcomes: the club could move quickly to secure an available high-profile name, wait for a preferred candidate to become free, or choose a coach already committed to staying put elsewhere if Chelsea believes it is the right fit.
Given the time pressure and the pool of managers who will be without a club by the end of the season, the most likely path is that Chelsea will prioritise availability when making an appointment before early July. If availability matters most, Alonso — free since January and publicly optimistic about his chances — emerges as a plausible favourite, but the club's insistence that the race remains wide open means a final decision could still go in several directions.
