Xabi Alonso urged to sign £60m former Chelsea star after Man Utd approach

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso (Picture: Getty)

Xabi Alonso

has been advised to sign a former

Chelsea

star to replace

Marc Cucurella

following his move to

Real Madrid

.

Chelsea are searching the transfer market for a new left-back after

selling Spain international Cucurella to La Liga giants Madrid

Cucurella expressed a desire to leave Stamford Bridge after a frustrating season in which Chelsea finished just 10th in the

Premier League

Earlier in the year, the 27-year-old criticised Chelsea’s decision to sack

Enzo Maresca

and

questioned the club’s transfer strategy

of signing almost exclusively young and inexperienced players with potential sell-on value.

Chelsea are

interested in signing Andrea Cambiaso

to replace Cucurella and have already held talks with

Juventus

over a deal for the Italy international.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

believes Cambiaso would be a positive signing for new Chelsea boss Alonso but says he would ‘prefer’ his former club to bring Lewis Hall back to Stamford Bridge.

Hall joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight but only made 12 first-team appearances before

being sold to Newcastle United in 2023 for £35m

Chelsea sold Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea may be regretting that transfer decision, however, after watching Hall establish himself as

one of the best left-backs in the Premier League

and an England international.

Hall has been linked with a move away from St James’ Park this summer – with

Manchester United said to be interested in a deal

– but Hasselbaink hopes he returns to Chelsea.

United are keeping tabs on Hall as they look to provide some competition and cover for injury-prone Luke Shaw ahead of their return to the Champions League.

Lewis Hall could leave Newcastle United this summer (Picture: Getty)

‘Those are the exact kinds of transfers I like – players coming from big clubs where the shirt is really heavy and where they already understand the pressure to win,’ Hasselbaink said of Chelsea’s pursuit of Cambiaso.

‘Bringing that kind of mentality into the squad can only help the other players who are already there. So I like those kinds of links.’

Asked whether he would ‘prefer’ Chelsea to target Hall, who is valued at around £60m, Hasselbaink added to

10bet

: ‘Yeah, I would.

Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Picture: Getty)

‘Look, I think with Marc Cucurella leaving, they will need to bring somebody in, but they also have Jorrel Hato who can play left-back and finished the season really strongly and really well.

‘But Lewis Hall has been unlucky not to be part of this England World Cup squad – he’s done really well at Newcastle.

‘He used to be at Chelsea, though, so I don’t know how the club would feel about buying their own player back – most of the time, that’s a bit of an issue psychologically.

New Chelsea signing Marco Palestra (Picture: Getty)

‘I think they can go two ways: they can keep Hato as the first-choice left-back and get a younger lad in as backup, or they look at Hall.

‘But if Lewis Hall comes, he’s going to want to come to play, isn’t he? Because he’s playing regularly at Newcastle. So then it becomes a real battle.

‘But I do like Lewis; I think he’s done exceptionally well. He’s really worked on himself, improved, and he’s a very good player.’

While Chelsea target a new left-back, they have already bolstered their options at right-back with the

signing of Marco Palestra from Atalanta

The 21-year-old Italian became Alonso’s first summer signing after arriving from Serie A and could pave the way for Malo Gusto to leave Stamford Bridge.

Both Chelsea and Gusto are open to a summer move although club bosses have

reportedly slapped an eye-watering £75m asking price on the Frenchman

Another Blues defender in Trevoh Chalobah could be on the move this summer with Chelsea

asking for £35m for a player who has caught the eye of Cesc Fabregas at Como

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