BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 14: Marcos Alonso of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at American Express Community Stadium on September 14, 2020 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
According to Daily Mail, Marcos Alonso is one of the three Chelsea players being targeted by Inter Milan. It is said that Antonio Conte is keen on quite a few of his former players from Chelsea.
The 29-year-old Spanish left-back started his youth career at Real Madrid’s famed youth academy in 1999 and progressed through the youth teams before being called up to the RM Castilla side in 2008.
The £100k-a-week star spent the next two seasons there and was only called up to the senior side once for a La Liga fixture. Bolton Wanderers signed him in 2010 but he didn’t feature on a regular basis for them for the following two seasons. It was only in his last season there that he started getting more game time. He played a total of 46 games for the side before departing for Fiorentina.
Midway through the season, he was sent on loan to Sunderland and after his return, he was instated as the first-choice left-back. He went on to make 85 appearances and contributed to 12 goals (5G + 7A). Antonio Conte brought him to Chelsea and tried him at wing-back.
The decision paid off tremendously as Alonso went on to become one of the most lethal defenders in the league. In 152 appearances for the Blues, he has scored 22 goals and assisted 18 (source – Transfermarkt). A rather surprising stat is that he has played only 3 games for the Spanish national team.
It’s rather puzzling as to how such an important player for Chelsea is now on the fringes. It was under Frank Lampard that the wing-back started getting less and less game time. Alonso’s defensive fragilities as an orthodox full-back led to him becoming a bit-part player.
The addition of Ben Chilwell did little to help his cause. However, what tipped things over was his falling out with Lampard (source – Football.london).
Keeping that in mind, Chelsea would be wise to accept Inter Milan’s offer for the Spaniard. The Blues have enough players in that position and letting go of Alonso shouldn’t hurt the club much.
It would also benefit the player as he would get to play under a manager who brought out the best in him and was a vital part of the team under him. Conte brought Alonso to Chelsea and the same could be repeated at Inter. Chelsea should not try to make things difficult here.
