Xabi Alonso is Chelsea's next new manager, with reliable reports indicating that a full agreement was reached with the Spaniard on Saturday.

Chelsea reach full agreement with Xabi Alonso amid FA Cup final loss

Chelsea's season came to a close at Wembley on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 defeat to Man City in the FA Cup final, with Antoine Semenyo's breathtaking piece of improvisation 18 minutes from time proving the difference between the two sides.

It was a goal worthy of winning any final — Erling Haaland's pass picked out the winger at the near post, and Semenyo, with Levi Colwill tight on his shoulder, flicked the ball behind his standing leg and past Robert Sanchez in one fluid movement.

Chelsea had defended with real discipline for 72 minutes, frustrating Pep Guardiola's side and limiting them to half-chances.

Calum McFarlane set his team up to contain and counter, and for long stretches it worked. But one moment of brilliance was all it took, and despite a late push — Enzo Fernández went agonisingly close with a flick that cleared the crossbar by inches — an equaliser never came.

It was a tough way for McFarlane to end his brief stint as interim manager, and for the players to close out a campaign that promised much and delivered little.

The summer reset cannot come soon enough, but the good news is that it is already underway.

Hours after kick-off at Wembley, news began to emerge of Alonso fully agreeing to become Chelsea's next head coach.

After weeks of talks with Alonso, the deal is done.

A four-year contract running until June 2030 has been settled, and the 44-year-old Spaniard will arrive in London in the coming days to begin work on what promises to be a transformative summer at Stamford Bridge.

What makes Fabrizio Romano's update on the matter particularly significant is one specific detail: Alonso will be heavily involved in Chelsea's transfer planning from the outset.

That is a notable shift in emphasis.

Under BlueCo's ownership model, recruitment decisions have largely been driven by the club's sporting leadership group — Laurence Stewart, Paul Winstanley and their colleagues — with previous managers often given limited influence over who came through the door.

It was a reported source of friction for both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, and one of the factors that made the Chelsea job less appealing than it should have been to top-tier coaching candidates.

Alonso's involvement in the summer window does not mean he has been given full control, with some reports making clear that he is not demanding wholesale authority over recruitment.

But the fact that he will have a meaningful voice in which players arrive and which depart suggests Chelsea's hierarchy have learned from the mistakes of recent appointments.

Collaboration, rather than conflict, appears to be the model this time.

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The work ahead is substantial.

Chelsea's squad is bloated and expensive, and the financial pressures of having spent more than £2bn on transfers since the takeover are starting to bite.

Outgoings will be just as important as incomings, and Alonso's input on who stays and who goes could prove decisive in shaping a leaner, more coherent group.