Rosenior the frontrunner for Chelsea job after Maresca’s exit

Former Fulham defender Liam Rosenior is currently the frontrunner to take over at Chelsea following the departure of Enzo Maresca.

The 41-year-old is currently managing French club Strasbourg, who are owned by BlueCo – the consortium which purchased Chelsea in 2022.

A number of players have since moved between the two clubs and it appears that Rosenior could well be heading to Stamford Bridge, although other candidates are being considered.

Rosenior, whose father Leroy also played for Fulham, as well as QPR, took over at Strasbourg in 2024.

He was widely considered unfortunate to have been sacked by Hull City prior to that, having lost his job after they failed to reach the Championship play-offs.

Chelsea confirmed Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day. It came after his relationship with the Blues hierarchy had deteriorated.

“Chelsea Football Club and head coach Enzo Maresca have parted company,” a statement read.

During Maresca’s 18-month spell at the helm, Chelsea won the Uefa Conference League and the Fifa Club World Cup.

The club’s statement added: “Those achievements will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions, including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track.

“We wish Enzo well for the future.”

Chelsea have won just one of their past seven Premier League matches, and sit fifth in the table to begin 2026.

Maresca faced boos from some sections of the home support in their most recent outing – a disappointing 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on December 30 – and did not appear for his post-match press conference.

Assistant coach Willy Caballero said on the night that the Italian felt too unwell to speak to the media.

But relations behind the scenes had been strained for some time, and first became public when he Maresca declared after a win against Everton early in December that he had faced his “worst 48 hours” at the club prior to the game.

Chelsea’s next match is away to Manchester City, on Sunday, with games against Arsenal and Napoli to follow in a difficult January.