Liam Rosenior was confirmed as the new head coach of Premier League club Chelsea on Tuesday following the departure of Italian Enzo Maresca last week.
The 41-year-old Englishman has signed a contract until 2032, becoming the fourth full-time head coach appointed since the takeover of the club led by American Todd Boehly in 2022.
“This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies.”
London-born Rosenior, whose playing career included spells at Fulham, Hull City and Brighton and Hove Albion, took charge of Strasbourg in July 2024 after coaching at Derby County, where he was assistant to Wayne Rooney, and Hull in the English second division.
Former England striker Rooney described Rosenior as “the best manager I’ve ever worked with”.
While he is relatively inexperienced as a top-level manager, his reputation has been enhanced after leading Strasbourg to European qualification following a seventh-place finish in Ligue 1.
Part of that team included Chelsea’s young Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos, who was on loan.
“He’s a great coach. I love working with him. All the players are enthusiastic about his commitment, his vision,” Santos, who scored 10 league goals for Strasbourg last season, said in an interview about Rosenior.
Rosenior has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Maresca, largely due to Strasbourg and Chelsea being part of the same multi-club ownership structure, with the French club being bought by Boehly’s BlueCo consortium in 2023.
His immediate task will be to turn around Chelsea’s form after a run of just one win in eight Premier League games, although he will likely be watching from the stands at Craven Cottage on Wednesday as Chelsea visit London rivals Fulham with under-21s coach Calum McFarlane taking the side.
Rosenior’s first game in charge will be Saturday’s FA Cup trip to Charlton Athletic.
Chelsea were third in the table in November and were considered title contenders, but have since slipped to fifth place and are 17 points behind leaders Arsenal after 20 matches.
Despite Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FIFA Club World Cup last year, Maresca’s relationship with the club has become increasingly acrimonious.
Rosenior will be tasked with steadying the ship and getting the most out of an expensively assembled team filled with international names, a contrast to his time at Strasbourg where he worked with an unknown team.
“My job is to protect that identity and create a team that reflects those values in every game we play while continuing to win trophies,” he said.
“Being entrusted with this role means everything to me and I would like to thank everyone involved for the opportunity and confidence to take on this work.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Rosenior used a press conference in Strasbourg to announce that he had agreed to move to Chelsea, saying his assistants Kalifa Cisse and Justin Walker would join him.
“The last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career,” Rosenior said.
“I have received interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, with whom I have always been open towards our president, Marc Keller, and our owners. I will love this club for the rest of my life but I cannot refuse Chelsea.”
Reporting by Martyn Herman in London and Julien Pretot in Paris; Editing by Alex Richardson, Alison Williams, Joe Bavier and Pritha Sarkar.
