Chelsea moved quickly to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new first-team manager after losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup final last month.

The 44-year-old Spaniard signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge, with his role set to begin next month following his departure from Real Madrid in January.

In the immediate aftermath of Liam Rosenior’s departure from Chelsea in late April, a club source indicated the sporting leadership team would take a careful and considered approach to finding his replacement.

Chelsea underwent a period of “self-reflection”, as per an official club statement, keen to avoid mistakes made previously during BlueCo’s tenure at the club.

Once Chelsea identified Alonso as the right man for their long-term project, one source told football.london that the Blues wanted to finalise the appointment as quickly as possible.

The source indicated Chelsea were determined to take such talent off the market before any rival clubs could enter the picture.

Chelsea supporters had been anxious throughout the process, partly due to Alonso’s well-documented connection with Liverpool, a club he represented during his playing career.

At the same time, Arne Slot was under serious pressure at Anfield following a difficult season, which intensified speculation linking Alonso to Liverpool rather than Chelsea.

Liverpool sources had previously told journalists that Slot’s position was safe, yet the club confirmed his immediate departure over the weekend.

With Slot now gone, Liverpool have turned their attention to Andoni Iraola, who was also on Chelsea’s own shortlist to replace Rosenior and is now the overwhelming favourite for the Anfield role.

Many were surprised Liverpool did not pursue Alonso, particularly given that the Reds had previously sought his services to replace Jurgen Klopp before he opted to remain at Bayer Leverkusen.

Reports now suggest Liverpool preferred a manager whose style of football is more closely aligned with Klopp’s approach, which brought the club their most successful period in recent history.

Alonso will face Liverpool next season from the Chelsea dugout, most likely coming up against Iraola, who interestingly shares the same agent as his compatriot.

The two Spaniards share a deep personal history, having been born less than 15 miles apart and having played together at amateur youth club Antiguoko in their formative years.

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