Exclusive says Chelsea 'leading candidate' for manager role is 'open to Premier League'; Blues want to appoint before World Cup

Chelsea are pushing for Xabi Alonso and the Basque seems interested, with a pre-World Cup deadline certainly possible.

Chelsea look to be getting very serious in their approach for Xabi Alonso to become their new manager.

TalkSport’s Alex Crook and Ben Jacobs have just dropped an exclusive which claims that Alonso has “emerged as a leading candidate” and that he’s “open to a Premier League job.”

That is carefully worded – it’s not clear if he’s open to the Chelsea job specifically. With time, this whole process has gradually shifted to make Alonso feel a far more possible candidate than he was to begin with.

He’s the best option out there, according to most fans, and many Blues simply didn’t dare to dream he would be interested.

Chelsea want speedy Alonso appointment

They also add that the Blues would like to get their man appointed before the World Cup starts – perfectly possible if Alonso wants the job. He’s out of work at the moment, so there should be no issue with negotiating and appointing him quickly if he’s interested.

Andoni Iraola is certainly in the running still, as are Marco Silva and Fillipe Luis.

Iraola has been favourite throughout the process so far, and has even had an in-person meeting with Chelsea representatives according to reports today.

Marc Cucurella was a key piece for Chelsea against Liverpool, and his performance has been highly praised by pundits online.