Chelsea head coach latest: Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior set for job interview
Liam Rosenior currently manages Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who are also owned by BlueCo; Rosenior will meet the Chelsea sporting leadership team on Monday to be formally interviewed; Enzo Maresca left Chelsea on New Year's Day after a breakdown in relations with other departments
Monday 5 January 2026 12:27, UK
Liam Rosenior is set to be the next Chelsea head coach, barring any last-minute issues.
Rosenior will meet the Chelsea sporting leadership team on Monday, with a view to replacing Enzo Maresca, who left Stamford Bridge on January 1.
Strasbourg president Marc Keller and sporting director David Weir are also flying to London for talks with BlueCo, who own Chelsea and the French club. They plan to interview replacements for Rosenior and have a final shortlist of three candidates.
Former Wolves and Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil is on that shortlist, having been out of work since leaving Wolves in December 2024 after successfully keeping them in the Premier League the season before.
Chelsea want to move quickly and an appointment could be made in time for their game at Fulham on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports.
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Calum McFarlane took charge of Chelsea for their visit to the Etihad Stadium and guided them to a 1-1 draw against Man City thanks to a late equaliser from Enzo Fernandez.
Speaking after the game, McFarlane said: "When I originally took over I was told I would take the Man City game and there's a chance the new manager might be in on Monday, that's what I was told originally.
"It's Sunday now, we've been solely focused on the game. For all I know, the new manager will be in shortly and I will lead the team until he's in."
Sky Sports News previously reported that Rosenior was the leading candidate for the role, with the club unlikely to pursue Oliver Glasner, Cesc Fabregas, Andoni Iraola or Roberto De Zerbi.
Rosenior played for Bristol City, Fulham, Reading, Hull City and Brighton during a 16-year playing career.
After hanging up his boots in 2018, Rosenior almost guided Hull to the Championship play-offs in 2024 and then became head coach of Strasbourg, who are owned by Chelsea's parent company BlueCo. The French club finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season.
Maresca is understood to have stepped down because he felt his position was untenable, while Chelsea were already considering sacking the head coach due to poor results, his comments in the media, disagreements with the medical team and reports linking him with other clubs.
Carra: I don't see Rosenior making huge impact at Chelsea
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"I was a big fan of Enzo Marescsa as a manager. When he came up against some of the biggest managers in this league, he more than held his own. But I could see this coming: you can't start speaking out of turn at any club, but especially Chelsea who have so many sporting directors.
"As soon as the results started to deteriorate in the last few weeks, he didn't turn up at a press conference, this was inevitable.
"Now Maresca's gone, the focus will be on the club and the ownership. I've been quite critical of the way they've gone about it over the last three-and-a-half years.
"If you look at the timeline of managers: they inherited Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League-winning manager. It now looks like they're going to inherit Liam Rosenior, who has managed Derby, Hull and Strasbourg.
"It's a great opportunity for him, but Chelsea Football Club and their supporters are not used to those appointments. They are used to Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte - big-name managers coming to make a huge impact on their club. I don't see Rosenior doing that.
"I don't think it's an appointment that is going to push Chelsea on to win the Premier League or a Champions League title."
Is an inexperienced manager the right fit for an inexperienced Chelsea team?
Sky Sports' Gary Neville:
"You genuinely can't win anything with kids. That's a fact. Alan Hansen was absolutely right.
"Chelsea need some experience in and around the club.
"If you have young players on the pitch I also think you need an experienced manager. But it looks like they are going to appoint another young manager again. I just think young players need some authority and guidance around them."
Who is Liam Rosenior?
You'd have got good odds on Rosenior becoming Chelsea head coach within two years when he was unceremoniously sacked by Hull in May 2024.
But just as Strasbourg has become somewhat of a feeder club for BlueCo to develop players before moving them across to Chelsea, it appears they have decided to do the same for the management team too.
A club realistically yearning for a return to challenging for Premier League and Champions League titles may not make such a move, but this is the model Chelsea are looking to adopt. Maresca's final line-up was the youngest named by any Premier League team all season, and now his potential successor would become the third-youngest manager in the division.
That does not mean Rosenior joins without experience. He has managed over 150 matches and spent three years as a coach beforehand too. More than enough to delve into his management style and playing philosophy.
His controlled, passing style on the ball has evolved at Strasbourg to incorporate a higher press off it - the sixth-best in Ligue 1 this season - and would not require any significant uprooting of Maresca's philosophies should he take to the training pitches soon.
Read more from Sky Sports' Ron Walker here...
