Plans in motion: Liam Rosenior
Chelsea Football Newsletter
Liam Rosenior says he is “excited” by the “detailed conversations” he has been having with Chelsea’s sporting directors about potential summer signings.
How Chelsea will strengthen their squad at the end of the season has come sharply into focus this week after the Blues crashed out of the Champions League at the round of 16 after an 8-2 aggregate drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea have spent £1.5billion since the BlueCo consortium bought the club in May 2022 and further spending is expected this summer.
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley will lead the recruitment process for new players to be signed ahead of next season.
“We’re having really detailed conversations now about the areas that we want to strengthen,” Rosenior said.
“I’ve had great conversations about what I think we need. We’re very aligned, actually, in terms of where we want to strengthen and how we go about that, which is very exciting. The most important bit, though, is making sure we get the now right as well.
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“It’s great to be able to plan for the future but I want to make sure we’re also in a good place. We want to win. That’s why I’m here, and I’m having really good conversations with the ownership and sporting directors about that.”
The manner of Chelsea’s defeat at the hands of PSG raised questions from many about whether the club’s best players would remain committed to the club or seek to explore other opportunities. That has led to rumours that Enzo Fernandez or Cole Palmer could leave.
But Rosenior insists they “love it here” and are not planning an exit.
“I have a very, very good relationship with the players because we speak all the time,” the Chelsea head coach explained.
“Not just about football, or the situation with their contracts, but about their life, with their kids, how their kids are, how school is. I have a very, very close relationship with Enzo and with the other players. In terms of contracts and where they want to be, there's not one player at this club since I've been here that has said that he doesn't want to be here in the summer.
“In fact, the conversations are more about how we improve, what we can do as a group to improve, what we need to do to win in this moment. And that's where we are at the moment.”
Chelsea’s season target is qualifying for the Champions League. They currently sit sixth in the Premier League table but would need to finish fourth or possibly fifth to secure a spot in the competition for next term.
“In my conversations with the ownership and the sporting directors, our plans are not solely based on whether we make the Champions League or not,” Rosenior said.
“But there's so many ifs. There's so many ifs in life. So we just have to make sure that the 'if' that we create is as positive as possible and we're still in a position to do that.”