Liam Rosenior poised to become next Chelsea manager as he jets into London | Football | Sport

Liam Rosenior is on the brink of becoming Chelsea‘s new manager after jetting into London on Sunday to finalise his appointment as Enzo Maresca’s replacement. Whilst Chelsea were in action against Manchester City, club officials were busy completing the necessary documentation to secure Rosenior as their next head coach. Maresca left his role on Thursday amid growing friction with the club’s leadership, leaving under-21s boss Calum McFarlane to oversee the squad for their Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Rosenior quickly emerged as the leading candidate for the position, having made a strong impression during his tenure at Strasbourg, Chelsea‘s sister club under the BlueCo ownership structure. The 41-year-old former Hull City manager guided Strasbourg to a 1-1 stalemate with Nice on Saturday in Ligue 1 before travelling back with his squad.

During his post-match media duties, he addressed speculation linking him with a switch to Stamford Bridge, acknowledging his ambition to “work at the highest possible level”.

According to L’Equipe, Rosenior departed France on Sunday afternoon, joined by Strasbourg chairman Marc Keller and sporting director David Weir on the flight to the capital. He will be absent from Strasbourg’s Monday training session and is expected to take the Chelsea job in time for their Premier League encounter with Fulham on Wednesday evening.

The report suggests that Rosenior’s deputies, Filipe Coelho and Jean-Marc Kuentz, will step up to oversee training at Strasbourg in his absence, while Eric Ramsay, the current coach of Minnesota United who shares an agent with Rosenior, is tipped as the favourite to take over the reins permanently.

“I love this group. I love this club, more than most people probably think,” Rosenior said on Saturday night when quizzed about Chelsea. “I’ve had the 18 best months of my professional career, for sure, I’ve made many good friends, I have so much respect for the people here.

“Things aren’t concrete, there may be interest, we’ll see. And at the end of the day, I want to focus on Strasbourg and not other things at the moment. I haven’t discussed anything at this point. I know that they’re (Chelsea) looking for a manager.

“Obviously, it’s our sister club. Other than that, I really want to focus on this club, because this club has given me so much, so many good memories, so many good times, the players, the fans, it’s a great city. Like I said before, if something happens, it happens. At the moment, nothing has happened, and that’s all I can say on the matter.

“I think every coach wants to work at the highest possible level, I’ve never been afraid to say that, and I’m working at a very high level here. It (Strasbourg) is a massive club. It’s a world class club. It’s a winning football club.

“But if you focus on other clubs when you’re doing your job for your club, you’re not doing your job for the club. I know that there’s a lots of speculation. I’d have to be an alien not to know, but at the same time, I want to give my players the maximum. I want to give this club the maximum.”