Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has told NetBet Sport that he believes Liverpool could be making a mistake in letting Xabi Alonso join Chelsea – and therefore sticking with Arne Slot as manager for the foreseeable future.
Alonso was sacked as Real Madrid boss earlier in the 2025-26 season, but still has an impressive managerial CV following his exploits at Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniard guided Leverkusen to a maiden Bundesliga title in 2023-24 – and achieved the feat by going unbeaten for the entirety of the campaign!
He will now take charge of a wounded Chelsea side who just finished 10th in the table and, as a result, will not be playing any form of European football next season.
Will Alonso bring the good ol’ days back to Stamford Bridge? NetBet Sport is the perfect platform to follow his tenure in West London, as we will be bringing you all the latest football odds and Premier League betting tips for the 2026-27 season.
Brown: Liverpool ‘making mistake’ with Alonso
“Xabi Alonso has experience at Liverpool, and I think a lot of fans would like to see him manage the club at some stage, so they could be making a mistake in letting him join Chelsea,” he said. “But from a Chelsea perspective, they could really do with someone like Xabi to steady themselves, especially given their transfer model and expectations.
“A lot of Liverpool fans I know aren’t happy with the current situation. It’s been a frustrating season for them, because they’ve brought in a lot of quality players who cost a lot of money.
“At the start of the season, all you can hope for as a manager and a fan is that the new signings gel straight away, because if they don’t, you can find yourself in deep water and under pressure – that’s where they are now.
“Of course, the players are still good and the quality shines through now and again. But it’s not quite worked for them and there has been many times where they haven’t played close to the standard we’ve come to expect from them.”
Liverpool ended the 2025-26 Premier League campaign with just 60 points on the board, losing 12 of their 38 matches and winning only 17 of them.
It really was a title defence to forget, with big-money signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz each failing to live up to expectation.
So the pressure on Slot to perform next season is massive, and if Chelsea hit the ground running under Alonso’s guidance, the scrutiny levels will only increase tenfold.
And the Dutch manager has a significant rebuild on his hands, with Liverpool legends Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson each saying farewell to the club following the 1-1 draw with Brentford on the final day.
Good luck, Arne…
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