The former Tigers boss could prove to be a big help to his old club
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
05:00, 14 Jan 2026
Liam Rosenior will be back at the MKM Stadium next month with his new Chelsea outfit
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Liam Rosenior will be back at the MKM Stadium next month with his new Chelsea outfit (Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Acun Ilicali believes Liam Rosenior's relationship with Hull City can help the Tigers bring in some of the top talents from Premier League giants Chelsea.
Rosenior was appointed as the Stamford Bridge supremo last week, with Ilicali speaking publicly about why he felt his former City boss would be a success on the King's Road.
To the surprise of some, the 41-year-old was selected as the replacement for Enzo Maresco, who was sacked on New Year's Day, with Rosenior early in his managerial career.
Despite being a relative rookie in management terms, Rosenior has landed one of the biggest jobs in European football, and Ilicali feels it could be good news for City.
And in a remarkable quirk that football throws up, the two clubs will meet in the FA Cup at the MKM Stadium next month, after being drawn together in Monday night's fourth round draw.
Rosenior was given his first permanent job by the Turkish businessman and helped improve players like Jacob Greaves, Liam Delap, Tyler Morton and Jaden Philogene.
City have previously worked closely with the Blues under Ilicali's four-year tenure, bringing in the likes of Mason Burstow, Xavier Simons, Nathan Baxter and Harvey Vale in recent times, and he hopes the club can benefit again in future transfer windows.
"Don't forget, his nan is from Hull," the City owner said in conversation with Hull Live. "All the Hull City family is proud of Liam. He won promotion with our club when he was a player, and he has a big love from our fans for his work with us.
"Anytime we need help, I'm sure he will be there for us, so of course it's an advantage for us because we can also develop his players and give him back to him and make him happy too. I think it will be a win-win situation.
"He's the best at developing players. He developed Liam Delap, Tyler Morton, Jacob Greaves, and Jaden Philogene. Look at the numbers before him, you will see that he improved them very much.
"He's the type of manager who can develop players, and this is a big advantage for Chelsea because they have such a big squad and young players, and I'm sure that he will pick some of them in his team and develop them to play at the top level."
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