Liam Rosenior set to be in charge of Chelsea for their next match as he flies into London to complete switch

Jan 4, 2026 - 21:30

Chelsea are close to confirming the appointment of Liam Rosenior as their new manager, talkSPORT understands.

Rosenior has flown to London to complete the formalities on his switch from Strasbourg.

Strasbourg head coach Liam Rosenior. — Rosenior took over as Strasbourg boss in 2024 but is now on his way to BlueCo’s top club Chelsea

The former Hull City boss is expected to take charge of Chelsea’s Premier League game at Fulham on Wednesday.

He is set to replace Enzo Maresca, who spectacularly left his role as Blues boss on New Year’s Day.

The Strasbourg boss was immediately instilled as favourite to make the move to west London once Maresca’s departure was confirmed.

While the 41-year-old refused to comment on speculation linking him with the vacant Chelsea job, he acknowledged that the situation could develop quickly ahead of Strasbourg’s 1-1 draw with Nice.

“There are no guarantees in life,” Rosenior said.

“What I do know is that I put everything into this job. I’ve created some unbelievable connections with the people at this club. We’ve created some really great memories.

“You can’t guarantee anything in life. In terms of interest for other clubs, I’ve had a lot of interest.

“A lot of approaches that I’ve always been open with the club about. Some have come out and some haven’t.

“My focus is always on the job that I do. But to say I’m definitely going to be somewhere or definitely going to do something, I don’t think that’s right.”

Rosenior was in the Strasbourg dugout for Saturday’s draw with Nice, but dropped a hint over his future with his post-match comments. Liam Rosenior drops hint over imminent Chelsea move

“It’s a very beautiful city, with very beautiful people, a great club. I loved everything,” he said. “The players were incredible.

“I really want the best for this club. I don’t know if this is my last match. In life, you never know.”

While Chelsea have searched for a permanent successor to Maresca, Calum McFarlane, Chelsea’s Under-21s coach, has been in interim charge for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Manchester City.

“I was actually on the way to a Windsor light show with my family. I got a call, and I said I can be in in an hour. The missus wasn’t very happy about that,” McFarlane said when he got the call to temporarily take over from Maresca.

McFarlane’s managerial bow ended memorably with Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time goal earning Chelsea a point at title contenders City after Tijani Reijnders put the home side in front.

McFarlane was thrust into the dugout for an away draw with high-flying Man City

Rosenior’s coaching career

After a 16-year playing career which finished at Brighton in 2018, Rosenior became the assistant coach for their Under-23 squad as he combined that with punditry duties.

The summer of 2019 saw Rosenior become a first-team coach under Phillip Cocu at Derby County and Rosenior was later appointed assistant boss to Wayne Rooney in January 2021.

Rooney resigned 17 months later and Rosenior took the reins as interim boss before Derby appointed Paul Warne as permanent manager in September 2022.

Rosenior then got the top job at Hull two months later before guiding them to a seventh-placed finish in his first full season in charge. They missed out on the play-offs as a result and he was sacked in May 2024.

The former England youth international only needed to wait two months for his next managerial post as he replaced Patrick Vieira as Strasbourg boss.

A memorable first campaign saw them come seventh in Ligue 1 and earn a place in this season’s Conference League. Strasbourg are currently top of the Conference League table with 16 points from a possible 18, while they are seventh in the French top flight.

Incoming Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior — Rosenior has been entrusted with the role of managing one of the biggest clubs in the world eight years after beginning his coaching career

Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali — Rosenior is making waves in the management world but this is a gamble by Chelsea’s top brass

What’s next for Strasbourg?

BlueCo group also owns French side Strasbourg, and they now need to bring in a replacement for the Wandsworth-born coach with the French side.

And the group has come in for criticism in the past for showing little regard for the UEFA Conference League contenders.

Rosenior’s move would disrupt Strasbourg’s season, but according to someone close to BlueCo co-owner Behdad Eghbali, who was speaking with French publication L’Equipe, they ‘couldn’t care less’ about potentially derailing the French side’s season.