Chelsea are aiming to land their new permanent head coach within days of the FA Cup final against Manchester City amid optimism Xabi Alonso may be ready to join.
Alonso is the standout candidate and Chelsea have directly spoken to all of their potential permanent successors to Liam Rosenior, who include Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Fulham’s Marco Silva and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
While Alonso, or any of the coaches who have been considered, will not be given the keys to Stamford Bridge, they will be made an equal partner in the identification and signing of players.
Chelsea co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali recently revealed that the club are ready to evolve and tweak their approach to transfers, with two to three ready-made players to be targeted this summer.
The new head coach will have a big say in who they are and the types of characters and players he believes will push Chelsea forward, with his role likely to be more meaningful than some of his predecessors.
Chelsea have concentrated on their preparations for the FA Cup final against City under interim head coach Calum McFarlane. But the club expect to accelerate the process after the final and make rapid progress in their bid to appoint a new head coach.
A source said: “Things should move quickly after the final. Chelsea ideally want an agreement with somebody within days, whether that be a few days or 10 days. But it shouldn’t be a long process now.”
Alonso is viewed as the standout candidate for the Chelsea post thanks to his superb spell at Bayer Leverkusen, during which he won the Bundesliga, German Cup and German Super Cup. He also had a stellar playing career, winning the Champions League, La Liga and Bundesliga titles as well as the World Cup and European Championship.
It is understood there is no concern within Chelsea over Alonso’s history with Liverpool, who he won the Champions League with, or his short time in charge at Real Madrid that ended with him being sacked. Chelsea do not have a squad full of Galacticos with accompanying egos for Alonso to have to deal with.
Suggestions that top coaches would think twice before taking the Chelsea job have been rejected by the club. They insist the overall quality of the squad remains high and that the size of the club, together with its prime London location, make it an appealing prospect.
Chelsea believe it is critical they get this appointment right following a season of regression on the pitch and the appointment process is being driven by the owners and four of the five-strong football leadership team – Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields and Sam Jewell. It is understood Dave Fallows has been less involved in the process as he fully integrates himself into the club.
How Chelsea’s football leadership team works
Chelsea’s leadership team of Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields, Sam Jewell and Dave Fallows retain the confidence of the club’s BlueCo owners.
The five men have come under fire from critics of Chelsea, but Telegraph Sport understands the club’s owners remain committed to the current structure and its ability to deliver success.
Winstanley, Stewart, Shields, Jewell and Fallows will be at Wembley, along with the owners, and will not find their positions in immediate danger should Chelsea lose the FA Cup final on Saturday and miss out on European qualification.
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table, six points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth, with two games to play and may not qualify for Europe at all if they are beaten by Manchester City.
It is not just Chelsea’s players, who, barring a miracle sequence of results, will be hit in the pocket by failure to qualify for the Champions League, with the football leadership team also in line to give up lucrative bonuses.
Telegraph Sport reported that Chelsea players will miss out on pay rises of approximately 20 per cent by failing to qualify for the Champions League and it can now be revealed the same is true of the football leadership team.
Winstanley, Stewart, Shields and Jewell all signed new contracts through to 2031 last summer, but the foursome were not handed pay rises and their deals are, like those of the players, heavily incentivised with performance-based bonuses. Fallows, who worked at Liverpool, has since been added to Chelsea’s leadership team.
Chelsea announced there would be a period of “self-reflection” after sacking former head coach Liam Rosenior and there is internal acknowledgement that mistakes have been made.
But there is no appetite from Chelsea to scapegoat anybody for Rosenior’s demise, amid a sense that the club win as a team and lose as a team, and that the football leadership team must move forwards together.
Winstanley, Stewart, Shields and Jewell are credited internally with making a good appointment in former head coach Enzo Maresca, who won two trophies and qualified for the Champions League with a style of football that suited the squad in his first season in charge.
Unforeseen circumstances, including Maresca informing Chelsea that representatives of City and Juventus had approached him, contributed to the Italian’s exit. That, ultimately, derailed Chelsea’s season and they expect there to be further clarity around Maresca’s departure this summer.
Chelsea believe there is widespread misunderstanding over the roles of Winstanley, Stewart, Shields, Jewell and Fallows, who are often grouped under the umbrella of “sporting directors”. There is also insistence within the club that the reputations of the five men inside football are far more favourable than outside perceptions.
Winstanley and Stewart were announced as co-sporting directors in February 2023, but have since allowed some of their responsibilities and power to be shared out.
Here, Telegraph Sport looks at what each of Chelsea’s football leadership team is responsible for.
Paul Winstanley (co-sporting director)
Contrary to popular opinion, Winstanley is not responsible for the identification of transfer targets. His work centres more around the delivery of targets, through talking to and negotiating with clubs and agents. He is also heavily involved in player sales and the renewal of contracts. As reported by Telegraph Sport, Tottenham Hotspur made checks on Winstanley as part of their search for a new sporting director, but the ex-Brighton man is not expected to leave Chelsea. Winstanley is also involved in player support and football operations, such as performance and medical.
Laurence Stewart (co-sporting director)
Despite his title, Stewart’s role is more akin to a technical director. He is responsible for budget planning and style of play and football philosophy. That has included setting a broad style of football that Chelsea want their academy and first teams to play, so there is continuity throughout the club. Stewart started his football career in analysis, working for City and England at the 2014 World Cup, and that remains an area he works on at Chelsea. Like Winstanley, Stewart’s other responsibilities include medical and the pair share a close working relationship.
Joe Shields (co-director of recruitment and talent)
Another former City man, Shields, is responsible for player identification through scouting and squad planning for the first team and the academy. A number of Chelsea’s recent signings, including Cole Palmer, Tosin Adarabioyo, Roméo Lavia, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap, have played at former clubs of Shields, who moved from City to Southampton before joining Chelsea. Shields is also said to be involved with the loans department and works closely with Stewart.
Sam Jewell (director of global recruitment)
Co-heading squad identification and scouting, Jewell’s remit extends past Chelsea and to BlueCo’s other club, Strasbourg. There have been several deals between Chelsea and Strasbourg in recent years, with striker Emmanuel Emegha due to move to London from the Ligue 1 club this summer. Jewell works closely with Winstanley, whom he has known for years, and also helps with negotiations with agents.
Dave Fallows (director of development)
The newest member of Chelsea’s football leadership team, Fallows, is integrating himself into the set-up. His responsibilities include data, scouting and background checks on prospective signings, which Chelsea are likely to lean more heavily on this summer. Suggestions that Fallows has been leading the interest in Xabi Alonso through his links with Liverpool, where he spent 12 years, have been played down. Like Stewart and Shields, Fallows has previously worked at City.
How the new head coach will fit in
Chelsea’s next permanent head coach can expect to be made an equal partner in the identification and signing of players, even though he will not be given the final say on everything. He will help to evolve and ultimately deliver the football philosophy of the club and will have a more meaningful role than some of the previous head coaches.
