It may only be over two months since Liam Rosenior was appointed Chelsea manager, but are the days until he is sacked similarly numbered? It has been a very damaging week for the Blues, after all.
Last Saturday evening, the Blues suffered a first home league defeat since December, beaten 1-0 by struggling Newcastle. This leaves Chelsea sixth, currently outside the Champions League positions with only eight matches remaining.
Then, Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League, with Liam Rosenior mocked for handing his players a handwritten letter despite only having measly minutes left to play in a tie they were never going to win.
Despite the fact that Rosenior has been given a contract until 2032, this always felt unrealistic, considering that the last Blues boss to remain in the role for six or more years is Dave Sexton in 1974. Thus, if Rosenior fails to deliver a top five finish, he could be pushed out the door by BlueCo. If this does come to pass, here are three managers Clearlake Capital should target.
3 coaches who Chelsea should hire to replace Liam Rosenior
Xavi
A high-profile figure perennial linked with top Premier League jobs is Xavi, but would he actually make sense as a Chelsea manager?
After beginning his coaching career with Al-Sadd in Qatar, Xavi has parachuted in as Barcelona manager in October 2021, replacing Ronald Koeman, with the team ninth in La Liga. In that first half season, he guided the Blaugrana to second before winning the league title the following year. After a trophyless campaign, he was unceremoniously sacked by President Joan Laporta who favoured Hansi Flick.
Nevertheless, inheriting a club in crisis and guiding Barça to the La Liga title is no small feat. Given Barcelona's ongoing financial woes, that were far worse when Xavi was there, he was forced to rely upon la Masia academy graduates, as he had been himself in the late '90s.
Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsí, Pedri, Gavi, Ansu Fati, Fermín López and a certain Lamine Yamal were all made central figures by Xavi, who managed to form a cohesive team made up of promising teenagers alongside well-established stars. Well, this sounds pretty similar to the task facing any Chelsea manager, suggesting the out of work Catalan 46 year old should be seriously considered.
Cesc Fàbregas
Another Barcelona native, but one with a clear connection to Chelsea, is Cesc Fàbregas, who is likely to be one of the most in-demand coaches on the planet. After spells with Arsenal and Barça, the midfielder joined José Mourinho's Chelsea in 2014, spending five years in West London, making 198 appearances, winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup and the Europa League.
Since going into management, he has been making waves in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. Having concluded his playing career with the Lariani, he was appointed Como's interim boss in December 2023 and, alongside Osian Roberts, guided them to Serie B promotion six months later.
After Como finished tenth in Serie A last season, the Biancoblù are currently fourth, on course for Champions League qualification, having never even competed in Europe before. Fàbregas' tactical acument and managerial style has earnt wide-spread praise, beating Juventus home and away this season, most-recently defeating Roma 2-1 at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Sunday evening. As a result, should he choose to leave the Como project, Fàbregas would have his pick from any number of elite-level jobs in the near future, but could he be tempted back to Stamford Bridge?
Luis Enrique
While Xavi and Fàbregas would be exciting appointments, if Luis Enrique becomes available, he surely has to be the number one choice.
By guiding Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League success in Munich last season, the 55 year old has become only the seventh manager to hoist aloft the European Cup in charge of two different clubs.
Managers to win the Champions League in charge of two different clubs
- Carlo Ancelotti: AC Milan (2003 & 2007) & Real Madrid (2014, 2022 & 2024).
- Pep Guardiola: Barcelona (2009 & 2011) & Manchester City (2023).
- Ernst Happel: Feyenoord (1970) & Hamburg (1983).
- Ottmar Hitzfeld: Borussia Dortmund (1997) & Bayern Munich (2001).
- José Mourinho: Porto (2004) & Inter Milan (2010).
- Jupp Heynckes: Real Madrid (1998) & Bayern Munich (2013).
- Luis Enrique: Barcelona (2015) & Paris Saint-Germain (2026).
In total, as well as leading Spain to a Euros semi-final, Lucho won nine major honours in charge of Barcelona and now ten with PSG, a tally that is likely to rise in the coming months. Given that he speaks excellent English, he has often been linked with taking one of the top Premier League jobs and, while les Rouge-et-Bleu will not want to lose him this summer, there are rumours that he could depart the French capital.
Were that to be the case, numerous European juggernauts would surely be interested, with Chelsea very much among them. Lucho teams play a high-possession, attacking, free-flowing brand of football, usually delivering silverware, so he would tick all the boxes for the Stamford Bridge faithful.