Chelsea avoid potential new manager error amid Rosenior link | Football | Sport

Chelsea look set to avoid repeating a significant error with Porto boss Francesco Farioli ruling himself out of the running to become the club’s next manager. Liam Rosenior, who currently manages the Blues’ sister club Strasbourg, is presently the bookmakers’ favourite to take over following Enzo Maresca’s unexpected exit on New Year’s Day.

Names such as Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner have been mentioned, along with Zinedine Zidane and Xavi, but it appears there are only two serious contenders. Due to his established connections with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, Rosenior leads the betting.

Nevertheless, Farioli looked to be in the running and with justification, as Porto currently lead the Primeira Liga, sitting four points ahead of Sporting CP and remaining unbeaten in domestic competition. The Portuguese table-toppers are also positioned within the top eight of the Europa League standings.

Fortunately for Porto, the prospect of losing their manager to a larger club seems considerably less likely. This is because, as disclosed by the Telegraph, his contract contains a £13million release clause that would need to be triggered for him to make the switch to Chelsea.

However, such a scenario appears extremely improbable with Farioli recently addressing speculation linking him to Chelsea. As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, he said: “I am staying at FC Porto, sure. There is no doubt – and there has never been any doubt – about that. For me leaving in the middle of a process has never been a topic. I am totally committed to the club.”

As for Rosenior, he would in theory be available without any compensation fee, and the former Hull manager seems quite receptive to the opportunity at Stamford Bridge. “I’m going to talk about Nice because that’s my job,” he said, alluding to Strasbourg’s upcoming fixture, when questioned about speculation linking him to west London.

“There’s a lot of noise, a lot of speculation, but as a coach, if you get involved in that, you fail. My job is here, I love this club. I haven’t spoken to the players about it. There’s no need, they’re connected and I’ve had a few light-hearted jokes. But we’ve been focused on our work. The goal is to continue creating great things here.

“In life, there are zero guarantees. You never know what tomorrow will bring. I’m just doing my job. There’s already been speculation. I don’t want to guarantee how long I’ll be here, but I enjoy myself here every day. I intend to continue doing so as long as I’m here. I love this club, but I can’t guarantee anything. Nobody can.”

He added: “I want to do my job here, it’s simple. The reality today is that I am the manager of Strasbourg and I am focused on my position.

“There are exchanges because we are part of the same group. I’m honest, you can never control everything in life. I could say I’m going to stay here for years and then get fired.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane will take temporary charge for their Premier League encounter with Manchester City.