Time is up for Enzo Maresca. On New Year’s Day, Chelsea announced that the Pep Guardiola protege has left the club with immediate effect – as such, the search for a new head coach is underway.
Today, we took a look at five managers who could be installed in Maresca’s former place. We had a look at coaches from across Europe in this – including a current Premier League head coach.
Liam Rosenior
Liam Rosenior is the current favourite to take on the Chelsea job with the bookmakers. This may seem like an underwhelming pick for a superclub like the Blues, but he has been doing an admirable job at Strasbourg.
They are currently 7th in Ligue 1, having finished 7th in the league table at the end of last season. He took over at the club in 2024, having previously managed Hull City in the Championship.
As Strasbourg and Chelsea have the same owners, a transistion should be largely seamless – if the Blues want to appoint a new manager quickly, this would be their best option.
Fabian Hurzeler
Fabian Hurzeler is the youngest permanent manager in the Premier League at the moment – it would be a massive step up for him to move from Brighton to Stamford Bridge, but we believe he’s up to the task.
Previously, Brighton have acted as something of an unofficial feeder club to Chelsea. Many of their top talents end up being snapped up by the Blues, often for massive amounts of money.
Therefore, it seems logical that Hurzeler could make to jump to Chelsea. With plenty of potential and the chance to coach players that he is familiar with, this one makes a lot of sense.
Marco Rose
Marco Rose is the only free agent on our list, having been available to sign since he was sacked by RB Leipzig in March of 2025.
He has never managed in the Premier League, but is no stranger to coaching big clubs – he spent just under a year as head coach of Borussia Dortmund from 2021 to 2022.
While Rose certainly carries a gamble with him, having been out of the game for almost a year – however, his track record speaks for itself.
Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas is a fan-favourite at Chelsea. His appointment would certainly be positively greeted by the fans, but Blues supporters should heed caution – it wouldn’t be the first time a former player has failed to achieve success at Stamford Bridge.
Notably, Blues icon Frank Lampard failed to achieve anything of note during his two stints in charge of Chelsea. However, this doesn’t mean this sort of arrangement can’t be successful.
Fabregas is doing an outstanding job at Como – he has led the Italian minnows to 6th in the Serie A table. He was named as Serie A Manager of the Month in April and May of 2025.
Roberto De Zerbi
During Roberto De Zerbi’s run at Brighton, he was pegged for great things in the future – as such, many audiences were surprised when he joined Marseille, deeming it a sideways move.
Nevertheless, he is performing well at Marseille – the Olympians are third in the Ligue 1 table as things stand, having finished second last year.
Chelsea will need to pay Marseille to secure De Zerbi’s services, as he is under contract at the club until 2027, but this should be a mere drop in the ocean for Boehly and company.