Chelsea have today announced the appointment of new manager Liam Rosenior. The 42-year-old arrives in West London on a five-and-a-half-year deal replacing the outgoing Enzo Maresca.
This will be Rosenior’s first venture into Premier League management, arriving from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who are under the same ownership group as Chelsea. The move has thereby been met with controversy from Strasbourg fans protesting their multi-club ownership structure.
The French side currently sit 7th in Ligue 1 and topped the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. Rosenior also led Strasbourg to a 7th place finish last season.
Prior to coaching in France, Rosenior was in charge of Hull City, where he was dismissed narrowly missing out on play-offs.
Interestingly, Rosenior worked with current Chelsea forward Liam Delap during his time at Hull, whilst also coaching current Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos last season at Strasbourg.
Much has been made on Chelsea’s transfer strategy in recent years, but it is becoming clear that Todd Boehly and the Chelsea higher-ups are in favour of younger coaches with Maresca also taking charge in his early 40s.
According to Transfermarkt, Rosenior favours a 3-4-2-1 formation, a complete switch from the 4-2-3-1 the team will be used to. But Chelsea fans will hope that the club’s return to a back three will come with the successes brought by both Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel.
As a player, Rosenior played as a right-back for clubs like Brighton and Hull City. He has also been on record earlier this season saying he is a fan of Manchester United when he shared his admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of Strasbourg’s clash with Aberdeen.
It is yet to be confirmed whether Rosenior will be in the dugout for Wednesday’s trip to Craven Cottage or if he will first take charge during Chelsea’s Saturday night clash away to Charlton in the FA Cup. Either way, Rosenior will have big shoes to fill, being tasked to replace the man who led Chelsea to the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup titles.
