Liam Rosenior could be Chelsea's new Jose Mourinho or new Wilfried Nancy as Todd Boehly makes bold contract call

New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior could be the Blues' new Jose Mourinho but could also suffer the same fate as Wilfried Nancy, depending on how well he adapts to the "culture" of the club.

The Conference League winners confirmed on Tuesday morning that they had appointed Rosenior as their new head coach on a six-year contract, less than a week on from giving Enzo Maresca the boot on New Year's Day.

Rosenior also arrives in West London following another two high-profile sackings, as Manchester United fired Ruben Amorim on Monday morning, only a few hours before Nancy's nightmarish Celtic spell also came to an end.

Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, ex-Chelsea winger Pat Nevin highlighted Nancy's technical brilliance but also emphasised the lack of cultural understanding, something Rosenior must adapt to in West London if he is to stick around.

Asked if the former Strasbourg boss looked ready for the Chelsea gig, Nevin replied: “You can't tell until he walks in. He might be the new Mourinho, the new guy who comes from absolutely nowhere. That can happen. That's long shot-ish.

How Liam Rosenior can avoid Wilfried Nancy fate at Chelsea

"Celtic get a young-ish manager from MLS, he may be a very good coach with brilliant technical ideas. But you've got to walk into the culture and the expectations of something totally different.

“Martin O'Neill did a brilliant job there. Eight games, won seven and lost one. The Celtic-Rangers game at the weekend, that was six defeats in eight for the new young manager, who may be technically great, but without the cultural understanding of what's going on within that league and the high expectations.

“It could be brilliant, but it could also be disastrous. And part of that is no fault of Rosenior. It's just he's never been at that level before and it's a big, big risk. If he does take it, I hope he does really, really well.

“But you have to remember one thing. Have a look back at what was said each time a new manager came into the current regime. ‘It’s going to be different this time, it’s going to be holistic.’ After a while you start thinking, no, it’s just a manager. Either you win games or you don't win games and that's what's going to happen with Rosenior.”

Including Thomas Tuchel - the last manager appointed in the Roman Abramovich era - Rosenior is the fifth different permanent head coach Chelsea have had under BlueCo, alongside Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Maresca.

The 41-year-old guided Strasbourg to Conference League qualification last season, prior to which he managed Hull City from 2022 to 2024 but was sacked over a disagreement on football philosophies with the powers-that-be.

Have Chelsea already made one mistake with Liam Rosenior?

Since Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali took over at Stamford Bridge in 2022, the Blues have not been shy about handing out six, seven and eight-year contracts to players, previously using an amortisation loophole which has since been closed.

However, the Club World Cup winners have tied Rosenior down until 2032, committing to an extremely long-term project with the former Hull and Strasbourg boss, and potentially leaving themselves vulnerable to a hefty payout.

Maresca allegedly decided to forgo a £14m payout due to his desperation to leave - according to The Sun - but if Rosenior's appointment goes pear-shaped quickly, Chelsea will have to cough up a significant amount to make another change.

Nevertheless, thanks to Rosenior's promising work with Strasbourg and close ties with BlueCo already, there is hope that things will be different this time.

Pat Nevin was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of Betwright Football Betting.