Maresca

Liam Rosenior says he could not turn down Chelsea but admits unusual situation as a deal has not yet been signed.

Racing Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior says he has reached an agreement with Chelsea to become their next manager but has yet to sign a contract with the Premier League club.

“I ‍haven’t signed yet. I have agreed verbally with Chelsea. It’s really important – this is different to anything anyone has ever done. Nobody has made a statement before they have signed a contract,” ‍Rosenior said at a ⁠news conference on Tuesday.

“Everything is agreed, and it will probably go through in the next few hours,” he said in Strasbourg, France. “I’m here because I care about this club and I felt it was right to answer your questions physically here today before I move on.”

Rosenior added that he would take his ⁠assistants Kalifa Cisse and Justin Walker with him to the Premier League club.

The 41-year-old, who joined Ligue 1 side Racing Strasbourg in 2024, said his time at the club had been the most rewarding period of ​his career after spells at Derby County and Hull City.

“The ‌last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career,” Rosenior said. “I have met some incredible people, created incredible memories and made history.”

He said he had been transparent with Strasbourg’s ‌ownership about outside interest.

“I have had interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, which I have always been open ‌with to our president, Marc Keller, and our ownership,” ⁠Rosenior said. “I will love this club for the rest of my life, but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”

Little-known Rosenior had been widely touted as the front runner to succeed Enzo Maresca since the Italian was sacked on Thursday, not least because Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by the same consortium, BlueCo.

Rosenior, who has no Premier League coaching experience, will become Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since BlueCo took control of the Londoners in 2022.

Chelsea has yet to confirm the appointment but held talks with Rosenior in London on Monday.

Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane admits it’s been a “whirlwind” 24 hours since he was named as temporary replacement for Enzo Maresca.

Italian Maresca parted company with the Blues on Thursday, 18 months after replacing Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

McFarlane, Chelsea‘s U21s head coach, was named as interim manager and will take charge of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Manchester City.

Such was the unexpected nature of McFarlane’s appointment, the Englishman’s training ground pass had to be amended to grant him access to the club’s press conference room on Friday morning.

“It’s been a crazy 24 hours, a whirlwind, as you can imagine, but also really enjoyable and really exciting,” said McFarlane.

“I can only feel positive about it. It’s an amazing experience.”

He added: “I am quite relaxed. I am sure as we get closer to the game it will become more nerve-wracking. I haven’t worked at this level before but the lads have been brilliant and we will do this together.”

Maresca’s departure came after a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Tuesday, which left the Blues 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

It means McFarlane’s debut as a manager of a senior team will come against Pep Guardiola, who celebrated managing his 1,000th match as a head coach in November.

“The team needs to be ready and prepared and our role is giving the players the support they need to go and execute,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say we have nothing to lose. We have to give a real good account of ourselves.”

Chelsea travel to Manchester three places and 11 points behind second-placed City.

Reports following Maresca’s departure suggested the Italian had held talks with City over succeeding Guardiola, though the former Leicester City boss denied the claims.

“From my point of view Chelsea have lost an incredible manager and an incredible person,” Guardiola said on Maresca’s departure.

“It’s a decision from the Chelsea hierarchy so I’ve nothing to say. How lucky I am in the club where I am. My club is extraordinary.”

Asked about his own future, Guardiola – whose current deal runs until the end of the 2026-27 season – said: “I have one more year.

“I’ve been here for 10 years and I promise you I will leave one day but I have a contract, I’m happy, I want to fight with my team, the hierarchy respect me – they proved last season when we didn’t win one game in three months.”

Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior is the leading contender for the Chelsea job vacated by Enzo Maresca.

Former Leicester boss Maresca, 45, left his role as Chelsea head coach on Thursday amid internal tensions with the club’s hierarchy and ownership.

The process to replace the Italian is under way, and it is understood Englishman Rosenior is the frontrunner, though sources have stressed other candidates are also under consideration.

Rosenior’s current employers are owned by investment vehicle BlueCo – the consortium set up to purchase Chelsea in 2022.

The 41-year-old, who previously managed Hull, has significant backing internally at Chelsea and it is understood candidates to replace him at Strasbourg are being considered because of his possible departure.

Porto’s Francesco Farioli has also been mooted as a potential contender.

Before appointing Maresca in 2024, Chelsea interviewed Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi, Ipswich counterpart Kieran McKenna, and Thomas Frank, who was then at Brentford but has since moved to Tottenham.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Fulham‘s Marco Silva have also been linked with the role in the past, though it is unclear if they are now contenders.

The club will not change their style of play, so it is highly unlikely they would move for Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner.

It is not yet clear who will lead the side for Sunday’s match against Manchester City, though under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane will take on media duties for a news conference to preview the game on Friday.

A social media post from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez indicated that Maresca’s backroom team have also departed the club.

Maresca exits the club midway through a turbulent season with the team winning just one Premier League game in December.

Chelsea have parted ways with ‌Enzo Maresca, a dramatic fall from grace for the Italian who was named ‍Manager of the Month ‍for November before the club won just one of their last seven league games, causing them to fall out of the Premier League title race.

“Chelsea Football Club and head coach Enzo Maresca have parted company,” the club said in a statement on Thursday.

Maresca, who joined Chelsea in 2024 after steering Leicester City to Premier League promotion, leaves 18 months to the day since he was ⁠tasked with reviving the club’s fortunes after two years of failing to qualify for the Champions League.

He eventually ​guided the London side to UEFA Champions League qualification with a fourth-placed finish, the Conference ‍League trophy and the Club World Cup title in his first season with a young but expensively built squad.

Poor run of form

However, a poor run of form in December and an uncharacteristic outburst from the Italian prompted the club hierarchy to take ‍action and part ⁠ways with the 45-year-old manager.

“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,” the Chelsea statement said.

Chelsea were as high as third in November and were among the title contenders, high on confidence after they had also crushed Barcelona 3-0 in ​the Champions League at Stamford Bridge.

But they have since slipped to fifth in ‌the league to sit 15 points behind leaders Arsenal at the halfway stage of the season.

‘Worst 48 hours’

Last month, Maresca voiced frustration over issues behind the scenes, saying he felt he had a lack of support from the club, describing a period ‌after a 2-0 win over Everton as “the worst 48 hours” of his tenure.

The Italian did not clarify what he meant by the comment, but the damage ‌seemed to have been done as Chelsea’s league form nosedived.

Although Chelsea ⁠beat Cardiff City to reach the League Cup semifinals, they picked up only two points in their last three Premier League games.

Off the pitch, there was also the unwelcome distraction of rubbishing links to the Manchester City job as Maresca pointed out that he was committed ‌to Chelsea, where he had a contract until 2029.

But Tuesday’s 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth – where fans chanted, “You don’t know what you’re doing” when he substituted playmaker Cole Palmer while they also booed at the final whistle – proved to be his final match in charge.

The club did not say who would take charge before Sunday’s match against second-placed Manchester City.

Maresca stunned even members of his own staff when – after beating Everton 2-0 for Chelsea‘s solitary Premier League win in December – he said “many people” had made it his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club.

Those comments came without any warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred any discussions to remain private.

But friction had been brewing in the months before that.

Maresca had hoped to raise his profile following the Blues’ successes through opportunities outside the club. He was planning to publish a book before being blocked, and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport – an event in Italy organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper – without the club’s permission.

He also made public that he disagreed with the club not signing a central defender after Levi Colwill injured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season. The club’s hierarchy explained that doing so could prompt academy prospect Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led Maresca to back down.

The former Leicester manager has also switched agents – from the Wasserman agency to Jorge Mendes – and has been talked of as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which Maresca has dismissed.

In addition, he has increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits – opting instead for his own clothing.

Following his last game with Chelsea – a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December – assistant manager Willy Caballero said Maresca felt too unwell to do his post-match media duties, but it is understood his absence was more due to his disillusionment at the club.

And it was noticeable that when Chelsea posted a 52-second video on social media on New Year’s Eve summarising their year, there was no trace of Maresca.

As Villa manager Unai Emery’s changes swung the game in their favour, Maresca’s substitutes made little impact.

Star attacker Cole Palmer reacted furiously to being taken off in the 72nd minute for 18-year-old Estevao Willian, while the decision to withdraw Marc Cucurella drew criticism – though it was later revealed that the Spaniard had a potential hamstring issue.

Maresca’s substitutions have faced scrutiny before, notably in defeats with 10 men against Manchester United and Brighton earlier this season. Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere even suggested they “drop” in the second half after his side came from behind to beat Chelsea in their Champions League game in Italy earlier this month.

While Maresca’s changes have occasionally worked, it has usually been when resting key players. In the Carabao Cup against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Cardiff City, he rotated heavily but ultimately relied on star players to secure wins.

This has sparked a chicken-and-egg debate: some blame the lack of quality on the fringes of the squad, while others question Maresca’s handling of certain players.

Asked about the issue by BBC Sport, Maresca smiled before replying: “No, I think it’s in general.”

That guarded response came after a defeat defined by substitutes.

Villa’s quintet of Watkins, Amadou Onana, former Chelsea loanee Jadon Sancho, Lucas Digne and Lamare Bogarde, had an average age of over 26.

Chelsea, meanwhile, made four changes – Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Malo Gusto – with an average age of under 21.

In terms of attacking impact, Estevao has delivered five goals and an assist since moving to Stamford Bridge, but injury-hit Delap has scored just once, as has Gittens, albeit having also delivered five assists in all competitions.

“It’s probably how we can improve after we concede a goal, to manage the game a little bit better, in terms of experience game after game,” says Maresca.

Chelsea rely on youth, and have had minimal impact from their changes in the Premier League this season.

The average age of their starting XI is 24 years and 219 days, while substitutes average 21 years and 349 days – both are the youngest in the league.

Alongside Arsenal, Chelsea make the earliest changes, averaging their first substitution at 48 minutes, often at half-time. Despite this, their substitutes have contributed only three goals and one assist in the league this season.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says reports describing him as a potential successor to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola are “100% speculation”.

The 45-year-old is the former assistant to Guardiola at City and there have been multiple reports that his mentor could step down at the end of this season.

The Italian was appointed Chelsea manager in June 2024 and has a contract running until 2029, with an option to extend by a further season.

When asked whether there was any truth to the City reports, Maresca said: “It doesn’t affect me at all because I know that is 100% speculation. And at this moment, there is no time for these kind of things.

“First of all, because I have a contract here until 2029 probably. And my focus, I said many times, is just about this club and I’m very proud to be here. But again, it’s speculation. One week ago I was in Italy, the same with Juventus. So I don’t pay attention because I know that is not true.”

Fourth-placed Chelsea play Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday at 12:30 GMT.