The Spanish left-back has now had three spells in England with various prestigious clubs. The Madrid home boy has played for Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Chelsea in England, as well as being able to put teams such as Real Madrid and Fiorentina on his resume. Alonso has now been with the London Blues for a season and a half after his transfer from Fiorentina in August 2016 in a deal worth around £24m. Many were surprised Antonio Conte acquired the player, especially as two left-backs in the previous two seasons were both unable to cement themselves in the starting eleven. Filipe Luis and Abdul Baba Rahman cost about £20m each so the pressure really was on Alonso at the start of the 16-17 season. Especially considering not many people were impressed with the transfer.
Real Madrid and Bolton
Alonso’s career started in the Spanish capital playing for Real Madrid Castilla, having begun playing for Castilla at the age of 18 and with his father and grandfather both playing professional football, Alonso seemed destined for stardom. However after only making a single appearance for Real Madrid’s a-team Alonso would make a move to England in 2010 when Bolton paid a reported £2m for the defender to bring him to the Reebok Stadium. Alonso made his debut for the club in a 1-0 away win to Southampton in the League Cup. Alonso displayed some great performances while at Bolton and in 2013 he was voted as Bolton News’ Player of the Year, citing the Real Madrid starlet had matured at the club and became an important player for Bolton.
Sunderland & Fiorentina
Alonso signed for Italian side Fiorentina in 2013 on a free transfer, having rejected a contract with Bolton in the Championship. Fiorentina sent Alonso out on loan to Gus Poyet’s Sunderland where he made a few appearances in left back including the EFL cup final where Sunderland lost to Manchester City and a 2-1 home win over Manchester United. Alonso also played in a 2-1 away win to Chelsea which saw Jose Mourinho lose his first ever home game in the Premier League. Alonso’s loan move eventually came to an end and spent the following two seasons in Italy where he established himself as a first team regular racking up over 70 appearances for Fiorentina.
Chelsea
Marcos’ move to Chelsea came as a surprise to many as questions of his ability to play for a top team in England started to appear. Chelsea paid about £24m for the spaniard and he made his first appearance at left back in a 3-0 loss to Arsenal. The result made Chelsea boss Antonio Conte change from a 4-3-3 system to a 3-4-3 where Chelsea’s left back Cesar Azpilicueta was moved to centre back and Alonso given the role of a left wing-back. Chelsea’s new system saw them go on a 13 game winning streak and securing the top spot after a poor start to the season. Alonso scored his first goal for the blues in a 5-0 home win to Everton and through the season would chip in a few goals here and there, including a brace away to Leicester and a stunning free-kick goal away to Bournemouth. Alonso would win the Premier League title in his first season in west London as well as reaching the FA Cup final. Alonso is today considered amongst the best players in the world in the left wing-back role and has scored more than any other defender this season in the Premier League and with his transfer value growing every week, the Madrid reject is sure to have a great career in England.
Post by: Emil Árnason
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