Kylian Mbappe has unfinished business with Xabi Alonso – he should be top of a three-man wishlist to take Chelsea back to the top.
The Frenchman, who went on trial with the Blues as a youngster, has been backed to cut his losses at Real Madrid for Stamford Bridge.
Mbappe’s dream move to the Bernabeu two years ago has quickly descended into a nightmare despite his stellar individual record.
What has gone wrong at Real Madrid?
The 27-year-old has scored 41 goals in 43 games across all competitions after winning the European Golden Boot last season.
However, the 2018 World Cup winner has seen Barcelona win LaLiga in each of his two years in Spain, while he has lost El Clásico five times.
Mbappe has also come no closer to a first Champions League title – with his former club Paris Saint-Germain lifting the trophy for the first time in its history in their first season without him.
Off the pitch, the forward claimed he is now the ‘fourth-choice’ striker at Madrid, while there have been reports of a training ground bust-up with a member of Alvaro Arbeloa’s coaching staff.
An online petition calling for Mbappe to be sold has also reached over 70 million signatures, while he regularly gets whistled by home fans.
European football expert Andy Brassell believes a move to Chelsea in a transfer to shake up football may be best suited to all parties.
Xabi Alonso being named manager at Stamford Bridge rather than head coach underlines his importance in recruitment this summer.
“Bear in mind that key players from his time at Leverkusen, where he was so incredibly successful, include Granit Xhaka, who did a brilliant job for them. And Robert Andrich, who was already there.
“If you can combine experience and a new top-class goalkeeper, I think most Chelsea fans would say that’s the first one you’ve got to go and get. For me, it’s Gregor Kobel of Borussia Dortmund.
“He’s a senior player, a great leader and just one of the very best goalkeepers in the world. So, I think for me, he’s a shoo-in.
“The defence definitely needs work. I think in terms of that middle place between experience and youth, I wonder whether Alessandro Bastoni would be the one.”
The Italian defender, a former Tottenham target under ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, has been told to quit Serie A and move abroad.
“We know that he’s likely to leave Inter this summer,” Brassell added. “Barcelona would like him, but I doubt they really have the money.
Mbappe to Chelsea
Under different circumstances, Mbappe could have emerged through the ranks in west London following interest as a youngster.
Former Chelsea scout Daniel Boga, the brother of ex-Blues winger Jeremie, caught wind of the future France captain while at Bondy.
Mbappe played in a friendly win over Charlton and was given a personalised shirt with ‘Kylian’ on the back, but talks broke down.
Now, Trans Europe Express podcast host Brassell believes a deal could be reignited nearly two decades later – with Alonso as the key.
“I just think it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Mbappe and Real Madrid are not the click that everyone thought they would be.
Mbappe transfer shakes up European football
“Chelsea have lacked an authentic centre-forward, and I know there will be people who say that Kylian Mbappe likes to play on the left.
“Left or centre-forward, let’s be honest, he’d be amazing for Chelsea. He’d be amazing in the Premier League.
“He has played more centre-forward than people who don’t watch PSG regularly know and would like to admit, and he was good there as well. So he knows what he’s doing as a centre-forward even though he’s not a traditional target man.
“Going with that traditional target man with Liam Delap has not worked for Chelsea. I wonder, with Mbappe turning 28 in December, if there was a landing spot which is not easy to find, I wonder if both parties would decide to cut their losses.
“If you sign these three players, maybe it’s possible, maybe it’s not, but if you sign these three players and have Xabi Alonso as the coach, Chelsea are immediately Premier League contenders.
“You’re looking at a guy who will come into the Premier League in Mbappe and score 30 goals straight off the bat, no doubt about it.
“He’s still very much at his peak. He’s got loads to come. He can deal with physical attention as he has done in France before.
“It just feels like this deadlock at Real Madrid needs to be broken, really. Imagine how that would shake up European football.”
Mbappe’s relationship with Alonso
Mbappe fired a shot at Arbeloa by suggesting the club had lost its structure since Alonso left, with whom he had a ‘great relationship’.
“I think it’s definitely a connection that would work,” Brassell stressed to talkSPORT. “I think we’ve seen recently with some of the words that have been said, not directly to each other, but from Mbappe about Arbeloa and from Arbeloa about Mbappe.
“Clearly, that relationship is not great. Obviously, it’s not going to continue next season.
“Maybe that’s not a deal breaker. It was interesting actually seeing Jose Mourinho say in a press conference with Benfica that when he was asked about it, Arbeloa was ‘one of my guys’ and he would do everything for me and ‘I love him to bits.’
