Liam Rosenior has confirmed he is set to take over as Chelsea manager.
The former Fulham defender, 41, has been the frontrunner to take over since the recent departure of Enzo Maresca.
Rosenior is currently managing French club Strasbourg, who are owned by BlueCo – the consortium that purchased Chelsea in 2022.
He arrived in London for talks on Sunday evening and on Tuesday morning, having temporarily returned to France, he confirmed at a press conference that he is taking the job.
“Everything is agreed and it will probably go through in the next few hours,” he said.
“I’m here because I care about this club [Strasbourg] and I felt it was right to answer your questions physically here today before I move on.”
Strasbourg’s first-team coach Kalifa Cisse, assistant head coach Justin Walker and head of analysis Ben Warner will join him at Chelsea.
“The last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career,” Ronseior said.
“I will love this club for the rest of my life but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”
He added: “I would not have accepted the Chelsea job if I was not ready.
“There are clubs you just cannot turn down. I hope the Strasbourg fans can see that and be proud of that.”
Rosenior, whose father Leroy also played for Fulham, as well as QPR, took over at Strasbourg in July 2024 and guided them to seventh in Ligue 1 last season, securing European football for the first time in eight years.
He was widely considered unfortunate to be sacked by Hull City prior to that, having lost his job after they failed to reach the Championship play-offs.
Chelsea confirmed Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day. It came after his relationship with the Blues hierarchy had deteriorated.
The Bluesdrew 1-1 at Manchester City on Sunday with Under-21s boss Calum McFarlane in interim charge.
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