Three big questions: Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso and the uncertain future
By Travis Tyler
3. Will he stay a left back/left wingback forever?
Alonso scores a lot of goals for a defender, which led many to (mostly) joke about him playing as a striker. But given his lack of speed is seen as such an issue, it remains curious that he has yet to play as a center back for Chelsea.
The position would not be a new one for him. He played in the role during his previous stint in England as well as Italy. The fear, of course, would be that it would hinder his goalscoring which is seen as one of his best traits.
That being said, Sheffield United has shown that centerbacks do not need to necessarily be shoehorned into the back all the time. Even Frank Lampard has played around with this notion with Cesar Azpilicueta bombing forward out of a back three.
Alonso as centerback would surely not work in a back four, but in a back three it could be a real possibility. It would likely require some adjustments ahead of him (such as a more defensive midfielder on that side), but in the long term it could extend Alonso’s Chelsea career as well as giving the Blues more options.
That being said, this is probably further down the pipeline than Alonso is likely to stay. If he does remain at Chelsea next season, it will likely be his last season if he is a deputy to a new left back. If he somehow manages to stay beyond that, then conversations can truly begin about shifting him around.
Next. Three big questions: Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger bought himself time. dark
What questions do you have about Alonso going into next season? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!