And ex-England legend Wayne Rooney is backing him to be a success.
The former Albion right-back was spotted and snapped on social media with former Albion technical director David Weir, who is now working at Strasbourg, preparing to fly to meet former Albion head of recruitment Winstanley in London.
The Strasbourg coach travelled to London on Sunday in order to meet with Chelsea sporting directors Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, with the club looking to install a replacement promptly for Enzo Maresca who departed on Thursday.
Rosenior is the leading candidate to become Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since owners BlueCo took control of the club in 2022.
That list does not include Rosenior’s fellow former Albion right-back Bruno, who had one game in charge as interim after the sacking of former Albion head coach Gaham Potter.
Liam Rosenior signs for the Albion in 2015 with Chris Hughton and Paul Winstanley (Image: BHAFC/Paul Hazlewood)
Following Sunday’s 1-1 draw away against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, interim head coach Calum McFarlane said he expected to take first-team training on Monday but that his brief did not extend much beyond that.
Chelsea have moved quickly since parting company with Maresca on New Year’s Day, with the Italian leaving abruptly following a deterioration in his relationship with bosses.
The club were unhappy that he had spoken to City about possibly succeeding Pep Guardiola at the end of the season, and his attempt to use the matter as leverage in negotiations over an extended contract.
J’en ai une aha pic.twitter.com/dHhBL841Uu
— RimRunnersFrance (@RimRunnersFR) January 4, 2026
There had also been disagreements over the extent of his authority to ignore the advice of medical staff when bringing players back into the team after injury.
Rosenior, who is already employed by BlueCo with Strasbourg also a part of the group’s portfolio, will be expected to work under the same conditions, with matters such as player recruitment largely the responsibility of the club’s five-strong team of sporting directors.
Speaking on his BBC Sport show, Wayne Rooney – who worked with Rosenior during his time in charge at Derby in 2022 – backed the appointment, saying: “If he goes in there, he won’t disappoint. He’s been waiting for an opportunity like this.
“If you don’t take it now, then you’re never going to take it. And I think he’s done his apprenticeship, he’s done his work to try and get to that job.
“So he’ll have no doubts in his mind that he’s capable of doing that job. And hopefully, very soon, we hear that he is the manager, because for young English coaches I think it’s massive.
“He’s taken chances and hopefully that pays off because I think Liam is as good a coach as I’ve ever worked with. His detail, how he approaches the day-to-day, he’s as good as I’ve worked with.”