Jan 2, 2026, 02:22 PM
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Chelsea will temporarily turn to Calum McFarlane to lead them against Manchester City on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca's departure this week has left a vacancy on the Chelsea bench and Liam Rosenior is a leading candidate, sources told ESPN, but he won't go head-to-head with Pep Guardiola.
Instead, the sizeable task has been given to McFarlane who has never coached a senior football match.
Who is Calum McFarlane?
Chelsea have turned to Calum McFarlane for the Man City match. Getty
McFarlane is currently Chelsea's under-21s head coach. They are fourth in b95669eedd38" href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/league/_/name/ENG.1">Premier League 2 after nine matches.
This is his first season in the job after joining the club from Southampton. He replaced Filipe Coelho who became Strasbourg assistant head coach.
McFarlane had initially joined Chelsea, just weeks prior, as assistant coach for the U21s but was given was a quick step-up.
In the UEFA Youth League, he has overseen Chelsea U19s as they won 3-2 against f73b-6e531a6fbd91" href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team?id=132">Bayern Munich and 5-2 against Benfica.
Previously, McFarlane was on the coaching staff at City. He joined City in 2020 and spent three years in their academy, when both Maresca and Guardiola were at the club.
He has now followed Glenn van de Kraan, Chelsea's academy technical director, and Joe Shields, their co-director of recruitment and talent, from City.
How long will McFarlane be in charge?
McFarlane said on Friday that his brief from the Chelsea owners was solely this weekend's Premier League match against City.
What has McFarlane said about Chelsea U21s
"We have a very strong connection with the players," he said last month.
"All staff maintain open and honest communication. Expectations around performance, behaviour and standards are clear.
"The players understand we are here to support them and help them achieve their goals, even if feedback isn't always what they want to hear in the moment.
"They need guidance but also freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. It's about balancing support with autonomy to help them develop both as footballers and as individuals.
"We expect our players to be committed, hungry and ambitious every day. This environment offers incredible resources and the players must maximise every opportunity.
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"Physically, we collaborate closely with the sports science team to align gym work, recovery and training schedules with match demands. Tactically, analysis and team meetings help us identify areas to improve and reinforce lessons from games.
"Mentally, we highlight focus, resilience and consistency. Data supports all of this by providing objective insights, but it's used strategically alongside coaching and observation."
Information from ESPN's James Olley was used in this report.