Liam Rosenior appointed new Chelsea head coach on six-year deal as ex-Hull boss joins from Strasbourg
Liam Rosenior confirmed as new Chelsea head coach on contract until 2032; Rosenior leaves Strasbourg to take charge at Stamford Bridge; Enzo Maresca left Chelsea on New Year's Day after breakdown in relations with club hierarchy; Rosenior's first game in charge to be FA Cup tie vs Charlton
Tuesday 6 January 2026 19:22, UK
Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Liam Rosenior as their new head coach on a six-and-a-half-year deal.
Rosenior arrives from Strasbourg on a contract that runs until 2032.
He said: "I am extremely humbled and honoured to be appointed head coach of Chelsea Football Club. This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies."
Rosenior will take charge of Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie at Championship side Charlton Athletic.
Callum McFarlane, who presided over a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Sunday, will oversee Wednesday's Premier League game at Fulham, though Rosenior will watch on from the stands.
McFarlane, speaking ahead of that game, said supporters can can expect "aggressive, front-foot football" from the new man.
"I spoke to Liam briefly last night," McFarlane said on Tuesday. "He's really excited about taking the role.
"I've been told I'm leading the game tomorrow, to try and do as best a job as we can and give him the three points to move on and build from.
"I really enjoy watching his sides," added McFarlane, who observed Rosenior's Hull team while coaching the U21s at Southampton. "Aggressive, front-foot football, really good on the ball, good positional-play concepts. Really excited to see the work he's going to do at this club."
Rosenior had confirmed his imminent move to Stamford Bridge at a Strasbourg press conference on Tuesday morning - and said he was "ready" for the job.
The ex-Hull boss said: "I was given permission to speak to one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"It was an honour to be associated with a club like that and, now, it looks like I will be the next manager of that football club," the 41-year-old said.
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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.
Despite his lack of experience at a top-level club - and having managed barely 100 matches altogether - the incoming head coach insisted his new role was not too big a job to take on.
"I am so excited for the future, my whole life has worked to be a coach and now to be presented this opportunity at a world-class football (club) is something I have always dreamed of," he said.
"With that is a mixed emotion of sadness of what I am leaving behind. This is the last day I wake up as Strasbourg manager.
"I hope the fans here can understand that. I am looking forward to the challenge, if I didn't think I was ready, I wouldn't have accepted it.
"The reality is Strasbourg is not on the level as Chelsea. There are certain clubs you just cannot just turn down. I hope the fans can see that."
Former boss Enzo Maresca left his role on January 1 and is understood to have stepped down because he felt his position was untenable, while Chelsea were already considering sacking the head coach.
Why Rosenior has six-year deal - and how structure will work
Sky Sports News' chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
The reason Rosenior has a six-year contract is because Chelsea want stability going forward.
Enzo Maresca had a five-year contract with an option of another year. From the outside, it is easy to criticise Chelsea and say they are crazy for giving a six-year contract because sacking him would cost a fortune. It would not cost a fortune because these contracts contain break clauses.
The priority is stability. That is why he has been given a long-term contract. If things do not work out, there are mechanisms for both sides to extricate themselves.
With Maresca's contract, the logic behind long-term deals for managers and players is to avoid constant re-negotiations. Clubs do not want individuals repeatedly asking for new contracts or pay rises after short periods of success.
There were suggestions that after Maresca won the Club World Cup in the summer, he wanted a new Chelsea contract. Chelsea's position was clear. He already had five years remaining, so there would be no new deal.
As for the job itself, Rosenior will be head coach rather than manager. He will not have complete autonomy. He must operate within the existing structure and has already done that at Strasbourg.
Going forward, he must demonstrate that he can outperform Maresca in key areas. That includes his relationship with the media and how he conducts himself in press conferences. He must stay on message.
His relationship with the medical department is also important. There was significant friction between Maresca and the medical staff, particularly around decisions on player availability.
He also needs to win over the fans. Many Chelsea supporters came to like Maresca, but the relationship was never seamless.
Carra: I don't see Rosenior making huge impact at Chelsea
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"I was a big fan of Enzo Maresca 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."
Liam Rosenior in profile
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...
