Liam Rosenior has opened the door to becoming Chelsea’s head coach by admitting there are no guarantees he will remain at Strasbourg for the rest of the season.
The 41-year-old is the leading contender to replace Enzo Maresca, who left on New Year’s Day, and progress is expected soon. The main obstacle to be overcome is that BlueCo, the investment vehicle that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg, is keen to be sensitive to the needs of both clubs. A quality replacement for Rosenior at Strasbourg must be lined up before the Englishman can leave the Ligue 1 side.
It means that Calum McFarlane, Chelsea’s Under-21s coach, will be in interim charge at Manchester City on Sunday. Rosenior will be in the Strasbourg dugout when they face Nice on Saturday evening and there are no guarantees he will be installed for Chelsea’s trip to Fulham on Wednesday. Yet the former Brighton defender acknowledged the situation could develop quickly when challenged on Friday over whether he envisages staying at Strasbourg.
“There are no guarantees in life,” Rosenior said. “What I do know is that I put everything into this job. I’ve created some unbelievable connections with the people at this club. We’ve created some really great memories. You can’t guarantee anything in life. In terms of interest for other clubs, I’ve had a lot of interest.
“A lot of approaches that I’ve always been open with the club about. Some have come out and some haven’t. My focus is always on the job that I do. But to say I’m definitely going to be somewhere or definitely going to do something, I don’t think that’s right.”
Rosenior is understood to have rebuffed offers from Premier League sides and Bayer Leverkusen during his time at Strasbourg, who are seventh in Ligue 1 and one of the favourites to win the Conference League. He has longstanding relationships with three of Chelsea’s five sporting directors. Chelsea like that Rosenior has a similar tactical profile to Maresca.
“They have been so supportive of me in this job,” Rosenior said of BlueCo’s leadership team. “They want this club to do so well, as they also want Chelsea to do well as well.”
The expectation is that Rosenior will end up at Chelsea, who viewed him as the long-term successor to Maresca long before the Italian’s tenure turned sour. However Chelsea have alternative plans in place. They have looked at Porto’s Francesco Farioli and have at least one other iron in the fire.
