Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior is the leading contender for the Chelsea job vacated by Enzo Maresca.

Former Leicester boss Maresca, 45, left his role as Chelsea head coach on Thursday amid internal tensions with the club's hierarchy and ownership.

The process to replace the Italian is under way, and it is understood Englishman Rosenior is the frontrunner, though sources have stressed other candidates are also under consideration.

Rosenior's current employers are owned by investment vehicle BlueCo - the consortium set up to purchase Chelsea in 2022.

The 41-year-old, who previously managed Hull, has significant backing internally at Chelsea and it is understood candidates to replace him at Strasbourg are being considered because of his possible departure.

Porto's Francesco Farioli has also been mooted as a potential contender.

Before appointing Maresca in 2024, Chelsea interviewed Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi, Ipswich counterpart Kieran McKenna, and Thomas Frank, who was then at Brentford but has since moved to Tottenham.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Fulham's Marco Silva have also been linked with the role in the past, though it is unclear if they are now contenders.

The club will not change their style of play, so it is highly unlikely they would move for Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner.

Chelsea Under-21s head coach Calum McFarlane will lead the side for Sunday's match against Manchester City, and is on media duties for a news conference to preview the game on Friday.

A social media post from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez indicated that Maresca's backroom team have also departed the club.

Liam Rosenior (Strasbourg)

Rosenior is highly regarded at BlueCo, and last year Strasbourg's former Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell told BBC Sport he believes the former Hull boss will go "right to the top".

Since his sacking by Hull in 2024, Rosenior has guided Strasbourg into Europe with a seventh-placed finish in his first season in Ligue 1.

The French club beat Crystal Palace in November en route to ending the 36-team league phase of the Conference League in first position and are one of the favourites for the competition.

Strasbourg sit seventh in Ligue 1 this season and have lost three of their past four matches, drawing the other.

Rosenior's reputation for developing players, his style of play and astute management of the dressing room led to him being linked with multiple clubs last summer, including Bayer Leverkusen.

Allowing Rosenior to leave for Chelsea may cause unrest in Strasbourg's fanbase, though, with some seeing themselves as the Blues' "feeder club".

Roberto de Zerbi (Marseille)

De Zerbi caught the eye in the first season of a two-year stint at Brighton, guiding them into Europe for the first time and also taking them into the FA Cup semi-finals.

The 2023-24 season brought more modest returns domestically as they slipped from sixth to 11th in the Premier League, but they did reach the last 16 of the Europa League.

De Zerbi, 46, was linked with several other Premier League and European clubs before leaving the south-coast club by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali was spotted with De Zerbi last May but would he leave a Marseille team sitting third in Ligue 1 and going well in the Champions League?

Kieran McKenna (Ipswich)

McKenna has been interviewed for the Chelsea job previously, and there is mutual admiration between the club's hierarchy and the Northern Irishman.

Prior to his move to Portman Road, McKenna had drawn attention while working at the academies of Tottenham and Manchester United.

While Ipswich's season in the Premier League was predictably tough, the 39-year-old's stock remained high and he had guided them to second in the Championship by the start of 2026.

Francesco Farioli (FC Porto)

Farioli took the Porto job in July having previously worked under De Zerbi at Italian clubs Benevento and Sassuolo before managerial roles of his own at Ajax and Nice.

The 36-year-old has taken Porto to the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga, having won 15 and drawn one of their first 16 games of the season.

Should Chelsea want him, they would have to pay a reported £13m buyout clause.

Frank Lampard (Coventry)

A legend from his playing days at Stamford Bridge, Lampard is flying high at the top of the Championship with Coventry.

His two previous managerial spells at Chelsea - one full-time and one as caretaker - were not hugely successful, but a move for the 47-year-old ex-England midfielder might improve the ownership's standing in the eyes of some Blues fans. (BBC)

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