BlueCo\u2019s transfer framework has been one of the defining narratives around Chelsea in recent seasons. After a turbulent finish last term, the club signalled a willingness to adjust that approach and the early signs under Xabi Alonso are clear.<\/p>\n
As first revealed by Luca Cerchione, Alonso has asked the club to pursue a reunion with Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, a central figure from his Bayer Leverkusen tenure. Talks over a surprise move are underway, and multiple reports have stressed Xhaka\u2019s desire to join and work with Alonso again. Florian Plettenberg states personal terms have already been agreed and Chelsea are now facing the uphill battle of convincing Sunderland to sell.<\/p>\n
The potential transfer represents a notable change of direction. A few months ago such an addition would have appeared unlikely at Stamford Bridge. The oldest player in the Chelsea squad is 28-year-old Tosin, one of just five players over the age of 25, and Chelsea named seven of the 10 youngest Premier League lineups last season while registering another six players aged between 11 and 20. Youth was central to BlueCo\u2019s identity; the Xhaka pursuit introduces a player who is just months away from turning 34.<\/p>\n
That contrast is deliberate. Chelsea are not specifically hunting older players, but they are prioritising experienced, mature heads who can lead a young core. Ideally those leaders would be younger, but the squad\u2019s age profile requires widening, and Xhaka fits the brief.<\/p>\n
Alonso knows Xhaka well, having handed him 99 appearances with Leverkusen. The Switzerland international was an integral part of the team, absorbed Alonso\u2019s methods and stood out for his leadership in the dressing room. That is precisely the attribute Chelsea are seeking and the club have acted on Alonso\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n
The summer window has emphasised personality as much as potential. \u201cThey called me constantly, wanting to know everything,\u201d said Guido Angelozzi, recently departed Cagliari sporting director, of Chelsea\u2019s successful pursuit of right back Marco Palestra this summer. \u201cThey obviously already had the data, but they were looking for information on the boy\u2019s character and qualities.\u201d No such questions need to be asked of Sunderland over Xhaka. Alonso knows him perfectly and has vouched for the former Arsenal midfielder, and it is clear that Chelsea have listened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea pivot from youth policy under BlueCo as Alonso targets Granit Xhaka to add leadership today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190,969],"tags":[1081,983,1162],"class_list":["post-15692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-premier-league","tag-adaptation","tag-agents","tag-analytics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}