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Liam Rosenior will reunite with one of his former players at the end of the season – and it's not Emmanuel Emegha or Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg
Omari Kellyman has described Liam Rosenior as a great appointment for Chelsea. The Blues midfielder, who's currently on loan at Cardiff City, previously worked with the former Strasbourg boss at Derby County.
Kellyman never featured for the Rams during Rosenior's spell in the dugout, as both the assistant to Wayne Rooney and interim head coach, but the duo managed to establish a rapport. The England youth international was only a teenager at the time, earning his stripes in the academy.
In an interview with WalesOnline, Kellyman was asked whether the disruption at Stamford Bridge had impacted him over the last couple of weeks. The 20-year-old, whom Chelsea signed from Aston Villa for £19m during the summer of 2024, said: "No, not at all.
"Obviously, I'm here, my focus is here with Cardiff City, so I don't think that affects me. I have worked with the new Chelsea manager in the past when I was very young at Derby.
"Obviously, I'm happy for him to get in the role," added Kellyman. When quizzed on his relationship with Rosenior, the midfielder recalled the time they bumped into each other at a restaurant.
"I'd seen him in town as well in Derby and had a, obviously, a short conversation," said Kellyman. "I think he was eating lunch with his wife or something, so yeah, I'd say the relationship we had was alright."
After 18 months or so at Strasbourg, Rosenior swapped the Stade de la Meinau for Stamford Bridge. football.london understands that the 41-year-old was viewed as an appropriate replacement for Enzo Maresca, given his working relationship with BlueCo.
On whether Rosenior will be a good appointment for Chelsea, Kellyman pointed to his new boss' spell in the French top flight. He said: "Yeah, definitely. Obviously, you've seen what he did at Strasbourg, so I think it's great."
And on Rosenior's time at Derby County, the Blues youngster added: "Obviously, administration and the point deduction didn't help, but yeah, he was great."
Shortly after joining Chelsea, Kellyman was plagued with injuries. He only featured twice for the under-21s before suffering a hamstring injury.
After six months on the sidelines, Kellyman finally returned to action, playing half an hour or so in a 3-1 win over Norwich City in Premier League 2. He then aggravated the muscle injury, which required surgery, ruling him out for the final weeks of the campaign.
Kellyman rebuilt his fitness over the summer before joining Cardiff City on loan. He has since enjoyed a clean bill of health, helping the Bluebirds climb to the top of League One.
The Chelsea youngster has already featured 22 times across all competitions this season, scoring two goals. As it stands, Kellyman, whose contract at Stamford Bridge doesn't expire until June 2030, will return to Cobham in the summer and reunite with Rosenior.
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