Liam Rosenior, who’s currently in charge of Strasbourg, has been strongly tipped to become sister club Chelsea’s new manager after they sacked Enzo Maresca earlier this week
Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior has confirmed that he wants to work ‘at the highest possible level’ amid reports that he’s set to become the new Chelsea manager. Rosenior, 41, is the favourite to succeed Enzo Maresca, who was sacked by Chelsea in a bombshell decision earlier this week.
The Englishman has coached French side Strasbourg, Chelsea’s sister team, since July 2024. The club are owned by BlueCo, the same consortium led by Chelsea chairman and co-controlling owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Strasbourg were held to a 1-1 draw away to Nice on Saturday and post-match, Rosenior was asked about his hot-button future. Although the former Hull City boss didn’t confirm anything, he did use his press conference to reflect on his time in France and outline his future ambitions.
“I love this group. I love this club, more than most people probably think,” Rosenior replied. “I’ve had the 18 best months of my professional career, for sure, I’ve made many good friends, I have so much respect for the people here.
“Things aren’t concrete, there may be interest, we’ll see. And at the end of the day, I want to focus on Strasbourg and not other things at the moment. I haven’t discussed anything at this point. I know that they’re (Chelsea) looking for a manager.
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“Obviously, it’s our sister club. Other than that, I really want to focus on this club, because this club has given me so much, so many good memories, so many good times, the players, the fans, it’s a great city. Like I said before, if something happens, it happens. At the moment, nothing has happened, and that’s all I can say on the matter.
“I think every coach wants to work at the highest possible level, I’ve never been afraid to say that, and I’m working at a very high level here. It (Strasbourg) is a massive club. It’s a world class club. It’s a winning football club.
“But if you focus on other clubs when you’re doing your job for your club, you’re not doing your job for the club. I know that there’s a lots of speculation. I’d have to be an alien not to know, but at the same time, I want to give my players the maximum. I want to give this club the maximum.”
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Ahead of game in Nice, Rosenior had told reporters: “I don’t know what’s to come. I have no idea what the future holds. My focus is exactly the same as how it’s been when I first came into this job. My focus is the team, winning games, all the things I have to do with Strasburg being successful.
“If anything else happens between now and the next six months, that’s out of my control. If you’re a manager and you take notice of what’s being said in the media, you’d probably go crazy.
“My job is here, I love this club, I’m working to win the game tomorrow. Of course I’m aware that there’s speculation but I think that’s a reflection on the great work that everybody’s done at this football club.”
When asked if he’d had contact with BlueCo, Rosenior replied: “They have been so supportive of me in this job. They want this club to do so well as they also want Chelsea to do well as well.”
Rosenior guided Strasbourg to a seventh-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, earning them a place in the Conference League. Towards the end of the campaign, the ex-full-back was handed a new three-year contract.
The new deal came amid reports that multiple Premier League clubs had approached Strasbourg about his availability. Chelsea are expected to name Maresca’s successor in the coming days.
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