Chelsea are holding talks to hire a “high-profile” manager.

The pace of Chelsea’s decline has been evident this season, less than a year since their breakthrough to Club World Cup glory over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Enzo Maresca had already guided the Blues to a top four finish and Conference League success at the time, the first BlueCo hire to look like the right man to lead the club forward again.

Now, the Italian’s bitter exit, followed by Liam Rosenior’s disastrous three-month reign, has left Todd Boehly back in the starting square, and the west Londoners have just ended a seven-game losing streak in the Premier League.

The Blues are in trouble, no doubt about it, but this is Chelsea after all, space is still a bright prospect for the game’s budding managers.

Chelsea are in talks to sign another Xabi Alonso

The man on everyone’s lips at the moment is Xabi Alonso, and the unemployed Spaniard seems to be the headliner to step into Rosenior’s shoes permanently, having left Real Madrid late last year after a short spell.

There is a sense, according to some reports, that the Liverpool target is almost ‘destined’ to move to Stamford Bridge this summer, even amid that Anfield buzz.

As noted by Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports, Alonso would be open to joining Chelsea, although he faces the dilemma of whether he will wait for his dream job, replacing Arne Slott on Merseyside.

According to Solhekol, BlueCo did not settle on a front-runner, as it held talks with five or six management representatives on its short list.

Among the names mentioned later are Alonso’s teammate and fellow Spaniard, Cesc Fabregas, with the Como manager said to be among the names ‘under consideration’.

This follows earlier claims that Fabregas is ‘free to leave’ the Serie A club, should he wish to rejoin the Blues as manager.

Why Fabregas would be better than Alonso at Chelsea

Football can be a fickle game at times, past loyalties often go out the window when success is secured, both for players and managers.

That said, at Chelsea, the men in the dugout often find it difficult to link up with their top rivals, be it former Liverpool man Rafa Benitez, or former Tottenham Hotspur favourite, Mauricio Pochettino.

Could Alonso, part of Liverpool’s side that regularly clashed with Chelsea in the mid-2000s, also face an uphill battle from the start to win over the Blues’ fans?

It’s certainly possible, if the west London side perhaps need to focus on being a unifying presence, someone who will get support from Stamford Bridge immediately.

Even after his rise to Arsenal, Fabregas could be that man, having won two league titles during his time at Chelsea, playing a key role in the 2014/15 triumph under Jose Mourinho.

Who can forget his assist for Andre Schurrle at Turf Moor, the former Barcelona player was a genius in the middle of the pitch, who had a great influence on his brilliance.

By all accounts, that mastery seems to have now been replicated in the dugout, with Fabregas being hailed as “football’s next manager” by one notable commentator, following his impressive career in Italy so far.

Since a short-lived start in November 2023, the 4-2-3-1-focused manager has been part of Como’s rapid rise, helping guide the club to promotion from Serie B in 2023/24, before being officially appointed as head coach that summer.

A respectable tenth-place finish in the top flight followed, and Fabregas’ men are now assured of qualifying for Europe in some form this time around, finishing at least sixth with just two games to play.

He may not have the high level of winning experience that Alonso has achieved at Bayer Leverkusen, although he has not been cultivated in his short managerial career thus far, as Alonso’s arrival in Madrid was unexpected.

The latter man has been unable to revive the fortunes of a Los Blancos side that seems to be struggling in its own right, and there may be doubts as to whether he will suffer the same fate if he is snapped up by Chelsea.

In Fabregas’ case, he is a man still growing, and a man who knows what it takes to succeed at Bridge. His work at Como should also be a reason for encouragement, especially when he boasts the fourth youngest team (25.7 years) in Serie A this season.

That should be music to BlueCo’s ears, with Fabregas certainly the best option ahead of a crucial summer for Chelsea’s management.