Chelsea on the brink of appointing new manager as Newcastle close in on 'big six' rival

For a lot of the criticism that Eddie Howe has received in recent weeks, the gaffer offers something that not many other managers can in the Premier League right now.

And that’s a sense of stability. You only have to look at a club like Chelsea and the recent Enzo Maresca saga to realise how fortunate we are to have Howe at the helm.

The Blues are a mess off-the-pitch, and should it soon translate to further woes on it, our hopes of beating them to a top-five finish will be handed another boost as Sunday saw us close the gap to just two points following our 2-0 win over Crystal Palace before they drew 1-1 at Man City.

Now we're back in the mix and within touching distance of the Blues, it's worth sharing some big news on Sunday night regarding the relatively inexperienced option who looks set to replace Marseca at Stamford Bridge.

Rosenior interview scheduled with Chelsea

According to Fabrizio Romano, Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior has flown into London to be interviewed over the vacant manager’s job at Chelsea.

Rosenior, who was the bookies’ favourites to become the next Chelsea boss after Maresca’s sudden departure on New Year’s Day, is expected to be officially appointed next week.

Sky Sports also report that the former Derby and Hull boss will take charge unless there are any 'last-minute issues', suggesting he's all but secured the job.

This mean’s we’ll likely see Rosenior in the dugout for their trip to Charlton in the FA Cup next weekend at the very earliest, before the huge first leg against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Should Rosenior be appointed, he will be leaving Strasbourg in 7th place in Ligue 1: six points behind Rennes in the UEFA Conference League qualification spot.

A boost to our UCL hopes, but for how long?

Rosenior is no stranger to managing in English football, having previously led Derby as a caretaker manager, before being permanently appointed at Hull back in 2022.

But the Chelsea job is a huge step up for the 41-year-old Englishman, particularly as they’ve found themselves going from being title contenders to the being embroiled in the tight race for European football in just a few short weeks.

The impending-appointment of the inexperienced Englishman will make for positive reading for Howe and the rest of the ‘Big Six’, as all signs would point to Chelsea’s form continuing on its downward spiral.

However, with how volatile the situation is at Stamford Bridge right now, Chelsea is still a very powerful and influential club: we found that out the hard way with the Liam Delap and Joao Pedro transfer saga this past summer.

It remains to be seen if Rosenior is simply seeing the club through until the end of the season, and an improved, more permanent option is then sought, but you truly never know with Chelsea and Todd Boehly; who runs the club like a kid in a sweet shop, at times.

So, whilst Chelsea are in the state they’re in, we can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal, and need to get ahead of the Blues in the table and further ahead in the race for Champions League football whilst they’re so disorganised.