Xabi Alonso is now officially positioned in the Chelsea hot seat, with July seeing the Spaniard finally arrive to Stamford Bridge.

Appointed on the 17th of May, with his contract starting from the 1st of July, the hope will be that Alonso can help the Blues become a feared Premier League title challenger again, after a major misstep of a season last time out.

In part due to the horrible failure of Liam Rosenior, Chelsea would slump to a lowly 10th place finish in the final top-flight standings, with Alonso hopefully the man to restore the West London giants back to their former glories.

He will want to backed in the transfer market, so he can steer the sinking ship on course, with a move for a World Cup star potentially in the works...

Chelsea lining up move to sign World Cup star

Despite not sealing an incoming signing yet, Alonso has already left his mark on the Blues squad.

Indeed, he has signed off on Marc Cucurella's departure to Real Madrid, and he will also have the likes of Geovany Quenda at his disposal this coming season, with the former Sporting winger agreeing a deal to join Chelsea this summer back in 2025.

Alongside all these changes, Chelsea are reportedly lining up a move for Johan Manzambi, as well, with the SC Freiburg star currently performing on the world's biggest stage in the World Cup for Switzerland.

Valued around the £42m mark, it is being reported by Chronicle Live that Alonso and Co. have tracked the exciting 20-year-old for some time now, alongside the likes of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

It's not just the Blues and the Gunners sniffing around, though, with Newcastle United another keen suitor from the Premier League.

Additionally, interest in his in-demand services comes from Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid in Europe, so Chelsea will have their work cut out for them to win Manzambi.

Picking up an electric five goal contributions from only four World Cup contests will make this frenzied interest even more frantic, you imagine, with Chelsea potentially winning an Enzo Fernandez-style talent by landing the distinctive youngster.

Why Manzambi could be another Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea fans will be very intrigued by the prospect of the 20-year-old joining the Stamford Bridge ranks, with Manzambi referred to as "the most unique U21 player on the planet" by analyst Spencer Mossman earlier this year.

He has certainly lived up to that billing at the World Cup, with Manzambi playing as a right winger, a number ten, and a central midfielder during the unfolding tournament.

In an attacking midfield role for the Swiss, he turned Algeria inside out for Breel Embolo's goal in their last match-up, with the Freiburg number 44 loving a dart forward from the midfield positions.

Fernandez operates in very much the same way as a box-crashing number eight presence, with 61 goal contributions next to his name for Chelsea at the time of the writing, with ten of those goals coming just last season, as the Argentine was a constantly unpredictable presence for the West London giants.

The Geneva-born star will be aiming to follow in Fernandez's footsteps at Stamford Bridge in being another lively figure from the middle of the park, as he is just fresh off accumulating a red-hot tally of 16 goals and assists in the Bundesliga, away from standing out for his nation.

He can also happily get stuck into challenges and duels, with a tireless 6.6 duels won on average last season in the demanding environment of the German top division.

Fernandez doesn't trail too far behind, with 3.8 won on average in the Premier League last campaign, as he also won six tackles and duels last time out in the World Cup, as a spirited Cape Verde nearly pulled off an almighty shock against Argentina.

This has all the makings of being a sensational purchase that livens up a stale Chelsea team, with the £42m price tag an arguable gamble, but one worth taking, as the astounding £103m to win Fernandez once upon a time has more than paid off.

Hopefully, it's another lavish signing that's looked back on as a great bit of business, if the 20-year-old hotshot does join, rather than a rash waste of cash.