Only signing young players is a big mistake

Manchester United icon Gary Neville has named four signings Xabi Alonso needs at Chelsea this summer. The Spaniard has accepted a four-year contract to become the new manager at Stamford Bridge, starting July 1.

Alonso replaces Liam Rosenior, who spent just 106 days as manager at Chelsea after the sacking of Enzo Maresca in January. The Blues, who lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City on Saturday, are now in a perilous situation in the Premier League.

Even though Chelsea put an end to their six-game losing streak against Liverpool, they remain 10th in the Premier League table. With just two games left this season, the west London club have little to no chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

Despite all their problems, the appointment of Alonso comes as a ray of hope for the Premier League giants. The Liverpool hero is a proven winner and enjoyed a strong track record at Bayer Leverkusen. While his time at Real Madrid was short-lived, the news coming out of Santiago Bernabeu suggest it was purely not his fault that things went wrong.

Ahead of what looks like a new era at Stamford Bridge, Neville has offered his opinion on how Chelsea must recruit this summer. He pointed to the fact that purely depending on young players will do them no good.

Neville urged BlueCo to change their transfer model and bring in experienced players to support Alonso during his summer rebuild at the club. He said on the ‘Gary Neville Podcast’ on Sky Sports:

“Chelsea have such an inexperience in the club at every single department. They’ve got inexperience on the pitch and they’re going to have to change their model.

“This strategy of only signing young player on massive contracts… no one is saying that signing young players but only signing young players is a big mistake.”

Neville thinks Chelsea have good players in midfield. But he highlighted the requirement for an experienced centre-forward, a new goalkeeper and reinforcements at centre-back.

He added:

“So the first thing I think Xabi Alonso will do, he will want a new goalkeeper, a centre back and a centre forward with experience.

“They’ve got some experience in central midfielder with Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia, so they can keep those together and they’ve got something there.

“They’ve also got a sprinkling of those fizzy wingers but they need a top centre forward. Joao Pedro is very good by the way, I like him, and Liam Delap is young.

“But they need a top centre forward with strength and class, they need a centre back or two and they definitely need a new goalkeeper.”

Chelsea face rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Tuesday. If they win, they can replace Brentford in eighth-place, which guarantees a berth in the Europa Conference League, with just one game left this season.

Xabi Alonso highlights ambition to fight for trophies after Chelsea appointment

In the wake of his appointment at Chelsea, Alonso has highlighted the ambition shared by him and the club. The 44-year-old referred to his employers as one of the biggest clubs in world football and shared his pride in taking up the managerial role at Stamford Bridge.

Alonso vowed to build a team that is capable of competing at the highest level on a consistent basis, while also winning trophies. He also acknowledged the quality the Blues already have at their disposal in terms of players.

Alonso stated:

“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.

“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.

“There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club, and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”

Alonso is the first Spanish coach to be appointed on a permanent basis at Stamford Bridge.