Liam Rosenior has announced he is set to be Chelsea‘s new manager.
The Strasbourg boss, who had been coy about the prospect of him leaving the club just a few days ago, admitted he’s West London-bound at a surprise press conference this morning back in France.
Rosenior spent Monday locked in negotiations with the Chelsea hierarchy after flying into the capital on Sunday to discuss the possibility of him taking over from the recently departed Enzo Maresca.
Speaking to French reporters on Tuesday, he said: ‘On Saturday, I didn’t know what was going to happen. What has happened since is that I have been allowed to speak with one of the biggest clubs in the world. Now, on this day, it looks like I’m going to be the next manager of that football club.
‘This opportunity for me is something that I cannot turn down in my life right now. They have an incredible squad, an incredible fanbase and they are Club World Cup champions.
‘I haven’t signed yet, I’ve agreed verbally with Chelsea. Everything is agreed, it will probably go through in the next few hours. I’m here because I care about this club and I thought it was important to answer your questions before I go on with the next stage of my career.’
Liam Rosenior has admitted at a surprise press conference in Strasbourg this morning that he will be the new Chelsea manager
The 41-year-old’s first game as Chelsea boss is likely to come on Saturday at Charlton in the FA Cup, with caretaker manager Calum MacFarlane set to take charge of the club’s West London derby against Fulham on Wednesday.
Rosenior joins the Blues with just three years of experience as a manager having spent a couple of seasons at Hull City before moving to Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in 2024.
He added: ‘Mixed emotions. Firstly so excited about the future, I cannot lie, my whole life I’ve worked to be a coach. To be presented this opportunity to manage a world class football club is something I’ve always dreamed of.
‘I’m emotional now, this is the last day I will wake up as Strasbourg manager. This is football, you create connections with people.
‘There’s many memories and good people I’m moving away from. I’m excited but also really appreciative of everything that’s happened here.’
MacFarlane could give further clues as to when Rosenior will be through the door when he addresses the media at Cobham later this afternoon.
The Chelsea Under-21s coach oversaw the club’s visit to Manchester City on Sunday, which they drew 1-1 thanks to a dramatic late equaliser from Enzo Fernandez.
Not only were they dealing with a makeshift coaching staff, they also lost goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and defender Wesley Fofana to illness and injury in the build-up to the game.
Rosenior will replace Enzo Maresca, who departed the club last week after a rift with the board
After Maresca’s exit, Chelsea wanted to find a replacement sooner rather than later and looked to their sister club Strasbourg, also owned by Boehly’s BlueCo company, to appoint Rosenior.
The Englishman will become the latest in a growing line of players to have moved from Chelsea to Strasbourg and vice-versa in recent years.
Last summer alone, both Ben Chilwell and Julio Enciso swapped Stamford Bridge for the Stade de la Meinau while the Blues secured a deal for the Ligue 1 club’s striker Emanuel Emegha late on in the window.
