Xabi Alonso urged to sign big-money Liverpool flop who just needs 'confidence and belief'

Xabi Alonso will arrive at Chelsea this summer — Xabi Alonso will be in charge of Chelsea in the new season (Image credit: Getty Images)

It's been a frustrating few years of one step forward, one step back for Chelsea.

Chelsea ended up finishing a lowly tenth in the Premier League last season after their decision to replace Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior utterly failed to work out for them.

The Blues hope that the imminent arrival of Xabi Alonso as new head coach will put them back in contention for a Champions League place next season, and one former Blue star believes he knows the ideal summer signing for them...despite the man in question having a less than glittering history in the Premier League.

Marcel Desailly: Chelsea should sign Darwin Nunez

World Cup winner Marcel Desailly spent six years at Stamford Bridge after joining from a hugely successful Milan side in 1998, and still keeps a keen eye on his former side's fortunes.

And he believes that Chelsea and Darwin Nunez could actually be ideal, if unlikely, bedfellows for one another.

Marcel Desailly in his Chelsea days — Marcel Desailly thinks Darwin Nunez could be just the ticket for Chelsea (Image credit: Alamy)

Much was expected of Nunez after he made the move from Benfica to Liverpool in 2022 in a deal worth up to a potential €100m.

But the Uruguayan often failed to live up to his billing throughout a mercurial three seasons at Anfield.

Nunez alternated wildly between scoring worldies that only he would have thought to score, and missing very presentable chances on goal.

That ultimately led the Reds decision-makers to offload him to Saudi side Al-Hilal last summer.

But Desailly thinks that Nunez was never particularly set up for success at Liverpool, and that being the spearhead of a Chelsea side where he is treated as the star player could bring the best out of him.

Darwin Nunez left Liverpool for Saudi Arabia last year — Darwin Nunez had a largely frustrating time at Liverpool (Image credit: Getty Images)

Speaking to Betway, the Frenchman said: "A player who would could suit the profile is former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez.

"If you give him the confidence and belief, he will not feel shy because the people in the system are a higher grade than him.

"That is what happened to him at Liverpool. There were too many players higher grade than him, so he couldn’t express himself.

"At Chelsea, I’m sure he would express himself and perform."

Sure, because Chelsea are extremely well-known for providing a calm, stable platform for players to play without pressure or expectation/

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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.