Marcos Alonso signs five-year contract extension with Chelsea — report

ESPN is reporting that Marcos Alonso has signed a five-year contract extension with Chelsea that ties him to the club until 2023, when he’ll be 33 years old. Chelsea are expected to make a formal announcement on Wednesday.

If true, this matches the timeline that Alonso himself laid out a fortnight ago, when he said he’d have a new deal before the end of October.

Alonso has been immovable at left wing-back and now left back since joining Chelsea three season ago. Under Maurizio Sarri he’s played every minute of every Premier League match this season and doesn’t look even remotely threatened for his position.

What he may lack in pace he more than makes up for with a nose for goal so ruthless it may not look out of place at emergency striker.

His lone goal this season came in our second Premier League match, against Arsenal. It’s a perfect example of how he follows the play into the penalty box. He also has four assists.

In an era of high-priced transfers, Alonso counts as a bargain, coming over from Fiorentina in 2016 for £24m. He played so well in Blue that Chelsea fielded inquiries about his availability over the summer, supposedly from Real Madrid amongst others. The rumor mill claimed that Chelsea slapped a €60m price tag in him, effectively pushing back attempts to lure him away.

It’s obvious that Sarri is a fan. And it now looks like Chelsea’s situation at left-back has been settled for years to come.