Maresca was officially sacked as Chelsea head coach on Thursday (January 1). His departure was sparked by internal tensions with the club's management and owners, despite having only been in charge of the Blues since 2024.
The search for Maresca's replacement is now underway. According to a Sky Sport report on Thursday, Rosenior is in pole position to fill the position, although Chelsea are still considering several other names as alternatives.
Ownership is said to have strengthened Rosenior's chances. Strasbourg is currently under the auspices of BlueCo, the investment consortium that also acquired Chelsea in 2022.
The closeness of this ownership structure is believed to facilitate communication and transition if Rosenior is actually appointed.
The 41-year-old coach is known to have strong internal support at Chelsea. In fact, Strasbourg has reportedly begun preparing candidates to replace Rosenior, anticipating his imminent departure.
Rosenior is an English coach currently in charge of French club RC Strasbourg. The 2025/26 season will be Rosenior's second with Strasbourg.
After retiring as a player in 2018, Rosenior was immediately appointed as assistant coach of Brighton and Hove Albion U-23.
His coaching career then continued at Derby County as a caretaker replacing Wayne Rooney, and became a permanent manager at Hull City.
Besides Rosenior, Porto coach Francesco Farioli's name is also on Chelsea's radar as a potential candidate.
Before appointing Maresca in 2024, Chelsea interviewed a number of high-profile coaches, including Roberto De Zerbi (Marseille), Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town), and Thomas Frank, who was then managing Brentford before moving to Tottenham Hotspur.
Several other names such as Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth) and Marco Silva (Fulham) have also been linked with the Chelsea coaching seat.
However, it is still unclear whether the two are still on the list of candidates being considered by The Blues management.
