Levi Colwill has hailed Xabi Alonso's style of football at Chelsea, taking a swipe at former managers who he says were 'really rigid'.
Colwill compares Alonso to previous bosses
The defender spent most of last season on the sidelines after a serious knee injury in pre-season, restricting him to only four outings. Chelsea had three different managers—Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and Calum McFarlane—during that campaign.
Alonso is the latest man in the Stamford Bridge hot seat. The former Liverpool boss won the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen, breaking Bayern Munich's stranglehold. His style helped Leverkusen win the double, and he has quickly implemented his ideas at Chelsea.
Colwill said: 'Xabi wants free flowing football, I've had a lot of managers who are really rigid and want you in right positions, but with him, play what you see, find the space and exploited it at a fast pace.'
Colwill's belief and Alonso's caution
Chelsea finished tenth last season after a dire campaign. But Colwill believes the squad can challenge the champions. He said: 'I feel like the players we've got in our team are ready to do that. With having a manager of this quality now, when it all comes together we're definitely going to be able to challenge and push for the Premier League.'
Chelsea have not won the Premier League since 2017, and under BlueCo ownership they have only finished in the top four once. Alonso has refused to set major targets publicly. 'I don't want to talk too early about what's our goal,' he said. 'We want to have a good season. We want to deserve to be as high as possible, and for that we need to work hard. We need to develop this team with new players, new coach, new ideas. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it happens quicker. So be ready to try to develop this idea that we have, this plan.'
