LiveScore Exclusive: Redknapp surprised by Liverpool ‘icon’ Alonso’s summer switch to Chelsea
LiveScore Features
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has revealed his surprise that Xabi Alonso chose Chelsea as his next managerial destination – despite the Spanish tactician's legendary status at Liverpool.
Both clubs were on the lookout for new managers this summer, amid suggestions the Reds would target their former player.
But Chelsea moved quickly to secure the 44-year-old’s services back in May, before Andoni Iraola swapped Bournemouth for Merseyside a matter of weeks later.
That was a sequence of events that Redknapp wasn’t expecting, as he explained in an exclusive interview with LiveScore.
However, the ex-England international believes Alonso is a strong choice to take the West London outfit forward this season.
“I was [surprised that Alonso went to Stamford Bridge] and I think for Chelsea it's a really good signing,” he said.
“Obviously you have to take aside what happened to him at Real Madrid, because that was a strange one.
“I think that's a difficult club to manage, hence why they've gone back to José Mourinho to try and sort of wrestle a man who can handle that dressing room.
“But no, I think it's a really good signing for them [Chelsea]. Sometimes when you go back [to a former club] – and he is an icon at Liverpool – that's not always easy, it doesn't always work out.”
Redknapp also understands why the Chelsea project may have appealed to Alonso, with the Blues spending £349 million on 11 signings during the summer transfer window.
“I think the expectations are maybe high [at Chelsea] because of the signings that they've got, people like Morgan Rodgers [who] is going to be fantastic,” he explained.
“I think it probably makes a bit of sense for him – he can always go and manage Liverpool in a few years.
“He's still a young man, as long as he's got the appetite to do it and he does well.
“But he actually needs to do well because of what happened to him at Real Madrid. It’s not necessarily damaging, but it makes it a bit more difficult for him.”
