Chelsea set to appoint ‘standout candidate’ within 10 days of the FA Cup final

Chelsea will face Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon with interim manager Calum McFarlane leading them from the touchline.

The two-time Champions League winners are searching for their sixth permanent manager of the BlueCo era after they made the decision to part ways with Liam Rosenior at the end of April.

Chelsea have been linked with several high-profile names to replace the English manager, including Xabi Alonso, Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva.

Now, according to the Telegraph, the Blues are confident they will name their next permanent manager within 10 days of the FA Cup final.

It read: “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.”

As part of the report, it listed their standout candidate as Xabi Alonso, who has been without a managerial job since he was let go by Real Madrid in January following defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final.

Xabi Alonso

The Spaniard’s impressive playing career in which he lifted the World Cup and European Championship at international level, while also winning Champions League, La Liga and Bundesliga titles.

While his exploits as a manager with Bayer Leverkusen, in which he guided them to an unbeaten domestic campaign in the 2023/24 season when they lifted the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup.

Chelsea are said to not be worried about his time at Real Madrid, in which he struggled to manage the egos within the squad; however, the Blues' hierarchy believes they do not have the same issues within their team.

Despite Alonso being seen as the favourite for the full-time managerial role with Chelsea, Liverpool’s defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night will have added more pressure to Arne Slot and his position.

Slot confirmed that he expects to be manager of the Reds next season during the week, but this performance will not have eased concerns from fans around the direction of the club.

Arne Slot

While it is unlikely Liverpool will make a late approach for Alonso to derail Chelsea’s plan, should this occur, the Blues have other options to become their permanent manager.

Iraola, Silva and Glasner are all admired by Chelsea for their work in the Premier League and the progression they have brought to their respective clubs.

Given that the decision is set to be announced soon, fans will be watching closely for an official announcement from the club, with this expected to take place within 10 days and the man set to be standing in Stamford Bridge holding a Chelsea shirt being Alonso.