Chelsea may reportedly struggle to land a replacement for Enzo Maresca as one exciting candidate is not interested in the job.
The manager in question is Porto head coach Francesco Farioli, who is not currently keen on moving to the Premier League, and particularly to Chelsea’s current project.
That’s according to a report from Portuguese outlet O Jogo, which also states that Farioli has a €15m buy-out clause in his contract.
Porto fans will certainly be glad to hear that the talented young Italian tactician is keen to stay, as he boasts a hugely impressive 84.62% win record with the club.
Are managers rejecting the Chelsea manager job?
This news on Farioli follows some claims doing the rounds earlier that numerous managers had already turned down the job at Stamford Bridge today.
See below as Simon Phillips responded to the news, saying “of course” there’s going to be a problem attracting top managers to Chelsea right now…
Of course they have. They’d have been just like us this last week or so watching this absolute shambles unravel in the media and thinking they want nothing to do with it. I truly fear who we will end up with at this point. https://t.co/8xQx9eeKK1
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) January 1, 2026
That post didn’t mention any specific names, but it could be that Farioli was someone the Blues sounded out over replacing Maresca.
The 36-year-old could fit the bill for this CFC project as he looks to be doing well at the moment, whilst also being young enough that he’ll surely continue to improve as a manager.
One imagines Farioli has it in him to get a top job in a more competitive league before too long, but it seems Chelsea won’t be able to hire him now.
Who else could be in the frame for the Chelsea job?
As per Fabrizio Romano, Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior is really appreciated inside Stamford Bridge, and he’d make sense as an internal hire as he’s already at another BlueCo club…
?? Chelsea will appoint new manager very soon, not gonna take weeks or long time. The club is now working on it.
Liam Rosenior, highly rated internally after excellent job at Strasbourg as he’s among contenders.
Decision to be made in days, won’t take long. ? pic.twitter.com/WefPgy7z7J
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 1, 2026
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail claim that Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola could also be one name to watch after his impressive work in the Premier League.
? – Chelsea fans, where do you stand on who's to blame for the club's problems right now? ?? #CFC
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) January 1, 2026
WHO !!!
it’s a welcome development that Enzo maresca have been sacked….I have been yearning for it…..a coach that will sit down in the dugout and watch his players week in week out playing back pass and diagonal passes for 70 minutes of the 90 minutes of every game….while the array of good attackers waiting in the cold upfront……I hate his inconsistency