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Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Chelsea confirmed the appointment of Liam Rosenior as head coach, the Blues announced Tuesday.
The Blues signed Rosenior to a six-year deal. He replaces Enzo Maresca, who split with the Blues last month after 18 months in charge, including Club World Cup and UEFA Conference League title runs.
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"I am extremely humbled and honored to be appointed head coach of Chelsea Football Club," Rosenior said in a news release. "This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies. My job is to protect that identity and create a team that reflects these values in every game we play as we continue winning trophies.
"To be entrusted with this role means the world to me and I want to thank all involved for the opportunity and faith in undertaking this job. I will give everything to bring the success this club deserves."
Rosenior departed from Strasbourg to assume the role of Blues coach. He coached at Hull City from 2022 to 2024 and worked as an interim coach in 2022 at Derby County.
"I thank Liam Rosenior for the work done with his staff," Strasbourg president Marc Keller said. "This period allowed Racing to take important steps, continue its progress and become an even more ambitious club."
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The BlueCo consortium, which is led by American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, owns Chelsea and Strasbourg. A dozen players have transferred between the clubs since BlueCo bought Strasbourg in 2023, a year after Chelsea's purchase.
Federation Supporters RCS, one of Strasbourg's largest fan groups, called Rosenior's departure "humiliating." Strasbourg (7-7-3) sits in seventh in the French Ligue 1 standings, 16 points behind first-place Lens. The Racers finished seventh last year, Rosenior's first season.
"Liam Rosenior's transfer marks yet another humiliating step in Racing's subjugation to Chelsea," the group said in a statement. "For two and a half years, we and others have been trying to raise the alarm about this.
"The problem goes far beyond the sporting impact mid-season and the ambitions of a young coach. It is structural; the future of French club football is at stake."
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Chelsea sits in fifth place in the Premier League standings, 17 points behind first-place Arsenal. The Blues (8-5-7) will battle 11th-place Fulham (8-8-4) at 2:30 p.m. EST Wednesday in London.
Interim coach Calum McFarlane, Chelsea's under-21s head coach, will lead the Blues senior squad against Fulham.
"I spoke to Liam briefly last night and he's really excited to take the role," McFarlane said. "It was a brief conversation and I understand he will be at Cobham later today, so I'm sure I will catch up with him more on that.
"I've been told I am leading the game tomorrow, and we will try to do the best job, as we have done, and give him the three points to take and then build on."
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