Chelsea have received a $24 million bid for Real Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras, which has been rejected as Xabi Alonso hopes to lure him back to England with the promise of more playing time.
The Blues are looking for a new left-back following the departure of Marc Cucurella, who left for Los Blancos. Carreras only arrived at the Bernabeu last year after excelling at Benfica, where he finally had the opportunity to showcase his quality.
There he worked with Alonso before his sacking, but the Spanish manager is keen on reuniting with the player who was once in the Manchester United ranks but never got the chance.
Spanish publication Sport report that Alonso asked Chelsea to sign Carreras as he believes he is the ideal replacement for Cucurella, but his bid for the 23-year-old was immediately rejected by Madrid.
Real Madrid are reported to want at least $57.5 million to repay his departure, although Carreras is not a regular starter and Alonso is hoping to use the extra minutes incentive to convince him to join Chelsea.
Xabi Alonso prepares for pre-season work with Chelsea Photo: Fadel SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
Dutch international Jorrell Hato, who signed for Chelsea last summer for $48.2 million, can play at left-back but the Blues are hoping to further strengthen that position. Chelsea’s approach to the transfer market has been widely criticized since BlueCo took over the club, with several players failing to perform.
Alonso was appointed and appears to have been given more control than any Blues manager in recent memory. His achievements at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the double, underlined his reputation as a great manager, and the former Liverpool star has stated his desire to change the team’s style of play and eventually return to European competition.
Alonso said: “Being part of this process, the way we want to play, the way we want to approach the game – that’s my goal. That’s what I hope for with the whole team. These are the first few days, I’m happy, but of course I want to be there (in Europe). To be at Chelsea you need ambition and hunger.”
He then insisted on it, ensuring that the players had that drive. “We need hunger, passion, we need to want to improve,” added the Spanish helmsman.
“The Premier League is very competitive. We have to prepare, we have to figure out the details, how they want to play; but the most important thing is our game.”