Chelsea's Future with Xabi Alonso: McFarlane Prepares for Spurs Clash

At Cobham on Monday morning, Chelsea’s present and future shared the same room.

Calum McFarlane sat down to talk about Tottenham, about a derby that still shapes seasons and scars reputations. Instead, almost every question bent back towards the man who will soon take his seat in the Stamford Bridge dugout: Xabi Alonso.

The interim head coach knew what was coming. The club had only just confirmed Alonso’s four-year deal, announced less than 48 hours after Chelsea’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. The Spaniard will not officially start until July 1, leaving McFarlane to steer the final two games of the Premier League season. On Tuesday night, that means Spurs at home, with European football still on the line.

The noise around Alonso, though, is already deafening.

“It’s really exciting news,” McFarlane said. “Great coach with a massive pedigree. We’re all really looking forward to working with Xabi.”

A Text From the Future

Alonso has already reached out. McFarlane revealed a message from the incoming head coach dropped into his phone on Sunday.

“He sent me a text message yesterday,” he admitted, keeping the details to himself, “mainly about the final.”

The contact underlined what Chelsea hope Alonso will bring: authority, empathy, and a clear sense of standards. McFarlane did not try to dress it up. The players, he said, are already feeling it.

“Everyone is excited. He’s a great coach, won major trophies, a great playing career. He will have lots of respect from everyone. We’re very excited.”

Respect. That word kept returning. Alonso’s playing résumé alone — Champions League titles, league titles, a World Cup — guarantees instant weight in any dressing room. McFarlane knows that can change the mood of a squad and, crucially, influence a summer transfer window that promises to be busy.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” he added when asked about Alonso choosing Chelsea. “We’re a massive club with some of the best players in the world.”

Derby First, Alonso Later

For all the talk of the future, McFarlane’s job is rooted in the next 180 minutes. Chelsea host Spurs on Tuesday, then close their league campaign with one final outing, needing two wins to give themselves the best possible shot at European qualification.

“We’re very, very focused,” he said. “We need to win the next two games to give ourselves the best chance to finish as high in the table as possible and get European football.”

Tottenham at Stamford Bridge rarely needs extra spice. The rivalry is ingrained, and McFarlane was quick to stress that the players understand the stakes.

“The players have showed fight and heart in the last two games. For me, that’s not an issue. Everyone knows about the rivalry but both teams also have lots to play for. Both teams are fighting for the points, so we shouldn’t need to add extra motivation but it will naturally be there.”

The FA Cup final defeat still lingers, but the response at Anfield and at Wembley has given McFarlane something to cling to: character. Chelsea have not folded. They have competed.

Colwill’s Return and a Delicate Balancing Act

One of the biggest positives of the last week has been the return of Levi Colwill. Thrown into high-pressure situations — away at Anfield, then in an FA Cup final — the young defender has reminded everyone why Chelsea fought so hard to keep him.

“It’s been great to have Levi back – great for English football as well,” McFarlane said. “We have a really talented, high potential player here. To perform away at Anfield and in the FA Cup final, we’re all really excited about Levi.”

Can he start again against Spurs? That is where the calculation becomes more complex.

“We need to be careful with Levi,” McFarlane cautioned. “He’s performed well in those two games. We’ll see how he looks today.”

The same careful tone applied to Romeo Lavia. The midfielder, whose season has been punctuated by setbacks, took a minor knock before the final.

“Romeo took a slight knock in the build-up to the game, nothing major,” McFarlane explained. “With Romeo, we don’t want to take that risk. We need to be careful.”

Benoît Badiashile and Malang Sarr missed out on the cup final squad, but McFarlane suggested both could still feature before the season is over.

“Benoit and Mamadou didn’t make the squad – we can use them in the next two games potentially. We have a lot of players in their position.”

The full picture will only become clear later in the day.

“They’re gonna train this afternoon and we will have a much better idea of where they are.”

A Future Unwritten for McFarlane

One question hung over McFarlane personally: will he be part of Alonso’s backroom staff?

Right now, there is no answer.

“I don’t know at this moment in time,” he said when pressed. Asked if he would like to stay on, he pushed it away again. “I haven’t thought about that. There’s so much to prepare for.”

It was an honest admission from a coach living in the in-between. The Alonso era has been announced, celebrated, dissected. Yet McFarlane is the one fronting up, planning training, managing knocks, and preparing a squad for a derby that could define where Chelsea play their football in Europe next season.

For now, his job is simple in theory and brutal in execution: block out the noise, beat Tottenham, and drag Chelsea as high up the table as possible before handing over the keys.

Alonso will walk into a club that still sees itself as “massive”, that still believes it houses “some of the best players in the world”. On Tuesday night, under the Stamford Bridge lights, those players have a chance to prove it — with a new manager watching, and a new chapter already on its way.