REAL MADRID have reportedly lined up a shock replacement for Xabi Alonso amid growing pressure on his job.
The Spanish giants fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday and had two players sent off.
They have lost their lead at the top of LaLiga after picking up just six points from a possible 15.
Next they face Manchester City in the Champions League this week and there is growing uncertainty surrounding Alonso’s position, having already lost to Liverpool in the competition.
There is speculation Alonso could be sacked just six months into his tenure, with a host of candidates rumoured to replace him.
One of those is his former team-mate at Anfield and Real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloa, according to The Athletic.
The former defender, 42, is in charge of the club’s reserve side Real Madrid Castilla and is understood to have impressed at the third division team.
It is a role he has held since May after working his way up the ranks, having first returned to the Bernabeu as Under-14 coach in 2020.
Arbeloa has won eight of his 15 matches in charge of Castilla.
But he appears to be one of a number of options, with sources at the club also pointing out president Florentino Perez’s love for Zinedine Zidane.
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Zidane returned to the club for his second stint as manager in March 2019 following poor results overseen by Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari – however he is said to be eyeing the role as France national team boss.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Jurgen Klopp is another candidate Real Madrid could consider.
