Chelsea could finally sack Maresca & hire “one of the best coaches ever”
Chelsea fans will now want 2025 to desperately end when casting an eye over their team’s gloomy end-of-year form.
Indeed, the up-and-down Blues have only been victorious a meagre two times across eight contests in all competitions in December, with one of those wins coming against League One opposition in Cardiff City in the EFL Cup.
Last time out, Chelsea did play out a thrilling Premier League clash with AFC Bournemouth, and while the neutral would have been overjoyed with the entertainment on show in the 2-2 draw, Blues supporters packed into Stamford Bridge would have been sick to their stomachs as another three points passed their side by.
Enzo Maresca certainly looks to be on borrowed time in the Chelsea dug-out, with the Italian a strong contender to be the first Premier League managerial casualty of 2026…
Why Chelsea must consider sacking Maresca
Maresca wouldn’t face the media after his side’s action-packed draw with the Cherries, with the former Leicester City boss judged to be too unwell to answer questions, as assistant coach Willy Caballero filled in instead.
Of course, this could well have been the case, but it does read as if the 45-year-old knows he is under significant pressure to change the Chelsea predicament, and fast, hence his hesitancy to be under the media spotlight.
With only one victory picked up from their last five league outings, Maresca and Co. currently occupy a disappointing fifth spot at the halfway stage of the season, with no signs of great improvement on the pitch, having secured a fourth-place position during his debut campaign.
Moreover, the under-fire manager’s constant “chopping and changing” of his starting XI is doing him no favours, as per pundit Chris Sutton, with a start handed to Liam Delap seriously backfiring against Andoni Iraola’s visitors, as yet another goalless performance was offered up.
Delap isn’t the only mega-money signing from Chelsea’s plentiful summer activity that has failed to settle, with Maresca cursing the likes of Jamies Gittens still being without a Premier League strike, alongside Alejandro Garnacho frustrating the West London masses mid-week when failing to track Bournemouth runners.
Ultimately, it is up to the boss in the dug-out to get the best out of what’s at his disposal, with the Italian’s reign at Chelsea now feeling somewhat stale.
This stale feeling could be rectified by Chelsea appointing this standout replacement, who already has significant BlueCo ties.
Chelsea must dismiss Maresca for "one of the best coaches ever"
Plenty has been made of Todd Boehly and BlueCo since the American billionaire took over at Stamford Bridge in 2022, with not a lot of success taking place on the pitch across their stay to date.
That might soon change, though, if Boehly can tempt RC Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior to move away from France to West London.
Indeed, Football Insider recently revealed that the fellow Blue Co-owned club could soon lose the ex-Hull City manager, as he is seen as a strong contender for the Chelsea vacancy if Maresca is removed.
Unlike the 45-year-old who has seen his stock take a notable dip at Stamford Bridge this season, Rosenior is very much a manager who has received plenty of praise this campaign for the glowing job he is continuing to do in Ligue 1, with European football broadcaster Andy Brassell recently hailing him as an “exceptional coach and developer of players.”
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The proof is in the pudding, too, with Rosenior turning Jordan Panichelli into a potential Ligue 1 golden boot winner with nine strikes already next to his name this season, with Delap perhaps benefiting from an arm around the shoulder from the London-born head coach.
Rosenior’s overall managerial record
Stat
Rosenior
Games played
152
Wins
66
Draws
43
Losses
43
Goals scored
224
Goals conceded
184
Points accumulated
241
Win percentage
43%
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Having also been a steadying influence at Derby County right at the start of his well-travelled managerial career, with pundit Clinton Morrison hailing him as “one of the best coaches ever” for what he managed to achieve with the crisis-stricken Rams, he could well be capable of getting a lot more out of an underperforming Chelsea side, as seen in him lifting Strasbourg to an unexpected European finish last season.
Nearly getting to the Premier League with Hull, too, it does feel as if Rosenior is deserving of a chance at Premier League glory now as a manager, having been dubbed a “highly-regarded” figure right after his Tigers dismissal by journalist Henry Winter.
His reputation has only been enhanced since taking an unexpected next step to manage in France, as Chelsea keep their fingers crossed that they can pull off a transformative replacement for Maresca, if Rosenior takes over in the New Year.
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