Written by
Simon Austin
January 6, 2026
A trio of staff have arrived at Chelsea from Strasbourg along with new Head Coach Liam Rosenior.
The 41-year-old Englishman was appointed as Chelsea’s new Head Coach today on a five-and-a-half-year deal with the option of a further season.
He will be in the stands at Craven Cottage when Chelsea face Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday and will take charge of his first training session on Thursday before Saturday’s FA Cup third-round game against Charlton.
Rosenior has been with Strasbourg, who are part of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo’s multi-club ownership group, since July 2024.
The French side are currently seventh in Ligue 1 and top of the Conference League. The three staff Rosenior is bringing with him to Stamford Bridge from the French side are:
- Justin Walker (Assistant, pictured): Made more than 300 Football League appearances as a player and moved into coaching with Derby County’s Academy in 2009. Promoted to first-team set-up under Phillip Cocu as Development Coach and then part of a caretaker management team along with Rosenior. Moved with Rosenior to Hull City in November 2022 and then to Strasbourg in July 2024. A Pro Licence coach.
- Kalifa Cisse (First Team Coach): Former pro footballer who played alongside Rosenior at Reading from 2007 to 2010. Praised the Englishman for helping him adapt to England. Moved into coaching with Bristol City in 2019 before rejoining Rosenior at Strasbourg in July 2024.
- Ben Warner (Analyst): After a two-year spell with Nottingham Forest, Warner worked at Derby County, rising through the ranks to become Head of Analysis. This is where he got to know Rosenior and went with him to Hull City and then Strasbourg.
Meanwhile, six staff have left Chelsea following the departure of Enzo Maresca as Head Coach on New Year’s Day. They are:
- Willy Caballero (Assistant)
- Roberto Vitiello (Assistant)
- Danny Walker (First Team Coach)
- Michele De Bernardin (Goalkeeper Coach)
- Marcos Alvarez (Fitness Coach)
- Javier Molina Caballero (Analyst)
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez personally thanked Maresca and his assistants on Instagram.
“Thank you for everything Enzo, Mickey, Willy, Dani, Marcos and Robi. Very grateful for the trust and the memories we shared, those will live with me forever. Wishing you all the best for the future , will miss you all.”
Chelsea have made a number of club appointments in their performance, medical, coaching and analytics departments, who all survive Maresca. So the likes of Set Piece Coach Bernardo Cueva and Head of Global Goalkeeping Ben Roberts have all stayed on.
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