Chelsea opened 2026 by parting company with Enzo Maresca, leaving the club to hunt for its fifth permanent manager since BlueCo took control in 2022. Thomas Tuchel was replaced soon after the takeover and both Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino subsequently failed to satisfy those running the club. Here are six candidates who match the circumstances the owners now face.<\/p>\n
Oliver Glasner
\nGlasner has drawn attention for his work at Crystal Palace and is in the final six months of his contract. He is not expected to extend and could leave at season’s end, or be recruited now if Palace agree a pay-off. A small fee is likely given the time left on his deal, though Palace may negotiate hard. Glasner favors a 3-4-2-1 and uses wide defenders the club\u2019s previous coach rejected, but Chelsea\u2019s large squad means a formation change would be feasible.<\/p>\n
Liam Rosenior
\nSeen in some reports as a contingency plan, Rosenior runs Strasbourg, a sister club. Appointed in July last year, he was previously at Hull City and briefly acted as Derby County caretaker. He was dismissed after missing the Championship play-offs in 2023\u201324, the same season Maresca won the title with Leicester City. Rosenior took Strasbourg to seventh and refused earlier Premier League approaches before signing a new contract, so a move to Chelsea would be a clear step up.<\/p>\n
Cesc F\u00e0bregas
\nNow at Como, F\u00e0bregas has developed coaching credentials but remains relatively inexperienced. He had 57 matches as a coach at the start of 2026; Maresca had 67 when he was appointed. F\u00e0bregas is contracted to Como until 2028 and also holds shares in the club, complicating any approach.<\/p>\n
Andoni Iraola
\nIraola transformed Bournemouth after arriving in 2023, lifting them from relegation candidates into the top half. Results have dipped this year, but he is in the final six months of his contract and is expected to attract offers.<\/p>\n
Roberto De Zerbi
\nReports suggested De Zerbi would have taken the Chelsea job in 2024. His work with Brighton is admired inside the club and his spell at Marseille has impressed. Tactically he appeals, though his abrasive personality and a public dispute with Tony Bloom over a youth-focused transfer approach at Brighton count against him.<\/p>\n
Xavi
\nWith more than 200 managerial games, nearly half at Al Sadd, Xavi won the 2022\u201323 La Liga title with Barcelona and left that job in summer 2024. He is available immediately and is respected for his record with young players; Lamine Yamal made his breakthrough under him. There is a sense he still has much to learn, which could suit Chelsea\u2019s appetite for a project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea have started 2026 by parting ways with Enzo Maresca and face another managerial hunt. Today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190,172],"tags":[1089,1087,1032],"class_list":["post-5617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-epl","tag-chelsea-struggles","tag-coaching-change","tag-contract-disputes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}