Chelsea have joined the race to sign Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso.
The Blues will go head-to-head with Real Madrid in an £18million battle for the Liverpool star. The future of Alonso, 27, has been the subject of intense speculation since the end of the season. He cast further doubt about where he will be playing next season during the Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa.
Alonso was non-committal about his plans – the broadest hint yet that he is on his way out of Liverpool, who are also battling to keep Argentine international Javier Mascherano.
Mascherano is wanted by Barcelona – and sources in Spain last night suggested that if he did join the European champions, Manchester United would move for Barca’s versatile Yaya Toure. Chelsea have also been alerted to Alonso’s unrest and he is a player who is admired by new manager Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian is aware Chelsea need to bring down the average age of their midfield.
Frank Lampard was 31 yesterday and Michael Ballack will be 33 in September.
Temporary manager Guus Hiddink said before he left his stand-in role in May that Chelsea needed to inject younger players into their squad – and Alonso would fit the bill perfectly.
He arrived at Anfield five years ago from Real Sociedad for £10.5m and has established himself as a key member of the first-team squad under Rafa Benitez. But his relationship with the manager became increasingly frosty last season and it now looks likely that he will be on his way out of Liverpool this summer.
Real would love to bring him back to Spain. It is appreciated at the Bernabeu that while Real will have an unstoppable strike force with the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and possibly Franck Ribery, there is also the need for more stability in central midfield.
Alonso would bring that balance. He has developed into a highly-rated part of the Spain outfit who have the No.1 ranking in the world following their success in Euro 2008 a year ago in Austria and Switzerland.
Alonso is certain to be an integral part of Vincente del Bosque’s plans for the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer. But it has also been recognised at Chelsea that Alonso has adapted well into life in the Premier League and he speaks perfect English.
His style would also suit Ancelotti and he could now become the former Milan manager’s first major signing at Stamford Bridge.
