Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville are far from convinced that Liam Rosenior will be the right appointment for Chelsea after Enzo Maresca’s exit.
The Blues announced Maresca’s departure from the club last week after weeks of tension between the head coach and the Premier League club’s hierarchy.
Strasbourg head coach Rosenior was immediately installed as the favourite for the job with Chelsea now on the verge of appointing the former Hull and Derby boss.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Sunday evening that Rosenior had arrived in London and is ‘expected to become’ the new Chelsea manager.
Romano wrote on X: ‘Liam Rosenior arrives in London tonight ahead of Chelsea appointment. Interview to take place in next 24h with Rosenior expected to become new #CFC head coach next week. Strasbourg looking for best replacement as key step ahead of Rosenior signing for Chelsea.’
But Carragher reckons the Chelsea job is “probably going to come too early” for Rosenior to have the success expected at Stamford Bridge.
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Carragher said on Sky Sports: “I was a big fan of Enzo Maresca as a manager. When he came up against some of the biggest managers in this league, he more than held his own.
“But I could see this coming: you can’t start speaking out of turn at any club, but especially Chelsea who have so many sporting directors.
“As soon as the results started to deteriorate in the last few weeks, he didn’t turn up at a press conference, this was inevitable.
“Now Maresca’s gone, the focus will be on the club and the ownership. I’ve been quite critical of the way they’ve gone about it over the last three-and-a-half years.
“If you look at the timeline of managers: they inherited Thomas Tuchel, a Champions League-winning manager. It now looks like they’re going to inherit Liam Rosenior, who has managed Derby, Hull and Strasbourg.
“It’s a great opportunity for him, but Chelsea Football Club and their supporters are not used to those appointments.
“They are used to Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte – big-name managers coming to make a huge impact on their club. I don’t see Rosenior doing that.
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“His target will be to make sure they get into the Champions League next season and they’re more than capable of doing that. We expect it to be five Premier League teams [that qualify for the Champions League] as it was last season.
“But I don’t think it’s an appointment that is going to put Chelsea on to win a Premier League title or a Champions League trophy, and that’s what Chelsea should be aspiring for and that’s what the supporters have been used to over the last 20 years.
“That’s not a lack of respect of a criticism for Liam Rosenior, he’s still a young man and he’s on a journey to be a top coach one day.
“For me, it’s just a job that’s probably going to come too early to have the success that Chelsea as a football club should expect.”
“I don’t think it’s an appointment that is going to push Chelsea on to win a major title” 😬
Jamie Carragher on the possible appointment of Liam Rosenior as Chelsea boss. pic.twitter.com/ujxM7ajTfI
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2026
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville added: “You genuinely can’t win anything with kids. That’s a fact. Alan Hansen was absolutely right.
“Chelsea need some experience in and around the club. If you have young players on the pitch I also think you need an experienced manager.
“But it looks like they are going to appoint another young manager again. I just think young players need some authority and guidance around them.”