Xabi Alonso's Chelsea reign is in its infancy but has already been dealt a blow.
Chelsea ripped up their rulebook when appointing Xabi Alonso, with the new manager set to be afforded greater control over the club's transfer policy.
The former Liverpool midfielder has been influential in the West Londoners' early summer recruitment strategy that saw Italy international Marco Palestra's recent arrival.
Xabi Alonso suffers early Chelsea transfer setback
Since owner BlueCo's 2022 takeover, Chelsea have focused almost exclusively on signing up football's brightest upcoming talents on eye-wateringly long contracts.
A flawed 2022-23 campaign led to the Americans abandoning their initial outlook of pursuing established players in favour of picking up future potential in the transfer market .
But Alonso's hiring as manager, rather than head coach, has seen the Todd Boehly-led investors lean into a more autonomous approach for their squad building plans.
As part of that, the Blues set their sights on reuniting the World Cup winner with one of his former Bayer Leverkusen lieutenants in Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka was integral as Alonso ended his former employers' wait for a first-ever Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season while also staying unbeaten in the league and DFB-Pokal.
The Switzerland international's return to the Premier League last summer proved similarly transformative as he helped the Black Cats to Europa League qualification.
However Chelsea's hopes of prising Xhaka back to London, where he spent seven years with Arsenal, have been dashed after an opening £8 million bid was rejected by Sunderland.
Sunderland are believed to have considered the offer for the 33-year-old, who is under contract until summer 2028, as disrespectful and effectively ended the pursuit.
"Following discussions, he has pledged his commitment to Sunderland and is set to remain at the Stadium of Light, where he is considered a key figure," reports The Athletic.
Although Xhaka was said to be enthused by the prospect of linking up with Alonso again, he has reaffirmed a commitment to his duties at the Stadium of Light.
The new Chelsea boss will have to go back to the drawing board as he attempts to shape a team reminiscent of the one he led to glory at the BayArena two years ago.
