Chelsea set to hire ‘pound-shop Graham Potter’, dressing room to eat him alive
Chelsea are on the hunt for yet another manager after the dismissal of Enzo Maresca last week.
However, while many fans may be hoping for an elite manager to step in to take over, it appears that Chelsea could appoint Liam Rosenior.
The former Hull City boss is currently at Strasbourg in Ligue 1, who are part of BlueCo’s multi-club model.
Yet, despite the 41-year-old doing a good job at the French side, optimism is not high surrounding the potential appointment, which Richard Keys is far from impressed.
Club statement: Enzo Maresca.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 1, 2026
Richard Key: Liam Rosenior is a pound-shop Graham Potter
Rosenior is the favourite to take over at Chelsea next and has now flown in for a formal interview in London for the role.
The French side are currently seventh in Ligue 1 and finished top of the Europa Conference League’s league stage after winning all but one of their games in the competition.
However, for a club the size of Chelsea, Rosenior does not compare to some of their recent managers.
As a result, Keys on 5 January slammed the appointment on his blog, comparing the former Hull City manager to former Blues boss Graham Potter.
He said: “Todd Boehly is onto his sixth coach, and he’s about to make another huge error.
“Leroy Rosenior? No. He’s a pound-shop Potter. If they give him the job, Boehly will be looking for another coach in May. That dressing room will chew him up and spit him out.
“Imagine World Cup winners like Fernandez being introduced to him. He won’t have a clue who he is.
“Working at Hull and Strasbourg is no way to prepare for a job like Chelsea if you haven’t been a decent player.”
Liam Rosenior’s managerial career so far
Rosenior’s first job in management came back in 2022 when he oversaw a brief interim period at Derby County in League One.
This was somewhat successful, as he won seven out of 12 matches before Paul Warne was given the role full-time.
From here, he took over Hull City on a permanent basis from 2022 to 2024. After successfully guiding them to safety, the 41-year-old finished seventh with the Tigers in the 2023-24 campaign.
| Liam Rosenior’s win percentages at each club | |
| Derby County | 58.33% |
| Hull City | 34.62% |
| Strasbourg | 49.21% |
However, this was considered a failure by many, considering the players he had at his disposal, and he was eventually sacked.
Now at Strasbourg, he guided the French outfit to a seventh-place finish last season, qualifying them for Europe.
As a result, Rosenior has been linked to plenty of Premier League jobs before the Chelsea dugout become vacant, but is yet to jump ship.
Currently, he is on course to match this feat in the current campaign. However, the French outfit are currently on a five-match winless run in Ligue 1.