Sawt Falasteen - Unheralded Rosenior has 'agreed verbally' to become Chelsea manager

Rosenior, 41, said it was "an opportunity I cannot turn down".

Despite having only three years of experience as a manager, and having never coached in the Premier League, Rosenior is on the cusp of taking on one of football's hardest jobs.

"It looks like I am going to be the next manager of that football club (Chelsea)," the Englishman said at a press conference at his present club, Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.

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

The former Hull City manager will become Chelsea's fourth permanent boss since BlueCo took control of the Londoners in 2022.

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

Rosenior said he had wanted to announce the news himself in Strasbourg because of his deep feelings for the club.

"Everything is agreed and it will probably go through in the next few hours," he told reporters.

"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, whose father Leroy was also a player and then manager, has never faced the kind of media glare that will await him in west London.

"I'm so excited about the future. I cannot lie. My whole life I've worked to be a coach," he said.

"To be presented with this opportunity to manage a world-class football club is something I've always dreamed of.

"With that is a mixed emotion of sadness of what I'm leaving behind."

- Second-flight experience in England -

His playing career was spent almost equally between the Premier League and Championship and he turned out for Fulham, Reading, Hull and Brighton, among other clubs.

He then moved into coaching and after a short spell in charge of Brighton's under-23s, Rosenior began his senior coaching career in 2019 at Derby County, first under Phillip Cocu and then as assistant to Wayne Rooney.

Rosenior briefly replaced Rooney on an interim basis in 2022 and later that year took over as manager of Hull in the Championship, England's second flight.

After just over 18 months in charge, he was sacked and in July 2024 was appointed by Strasbourg, who he guided to seventh place in Ligue 1 last season.

On Monday, Rosenior met with Chelsea's sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, after which a Strasbourg source said that the Ligue 1 outfit was already working on finding a replacement "as soon as possible".

Former Bournemouth and Wolverhampton boss Gary O'Neil, ex-Southampton manager Will Still and Welshman Eric Ramsay, who previously worked as a youth coach at Chelsea and an assistant coach at Manchester United, are rumoured to be on Strasbourg's short-list.

Maresca's 18-month spell as Chelsea manager, during which time he won the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup, came to an abrupt end on New Year's Day, soon after signs of tension emerged.

Chelsea were unhappy with reports that Maresca had spoken to Manchester City about possibly succeeding Pep Guardiola at the end of the season, amid suggestions that he had tried to use a potential move as a bargaining tool in negotiations to extend his contract.

Under-21s coach Calum McFarlane took charge of Chelsea for Sunday's 1-1 draw at Manchester City and oversaw training on Monday.

Chelsea travel to west London rivals Fulham, one of Rosenior's old clubs, on Wednesday.

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST