Liam Rosenior’s revolution at Strasbourg has been so impressive – his striker is top scorer and another could soon be worth £60m.
The 41-year-old’s outstanding work in developing promising young talents into rising stars has transformed former Chelsea flop Diego Moreira.
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The former EFL boss has gone from strength to strength in France since replacing Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira in July 2024.
His appointment came two months after he was sacked by Hull City after narrowly missing out on the Championship play-offs.
The Tigers’ loss was a win for Strasbourg after Rosenior ensured a seventh-place finish that ensured them qualification for the Conference League.
Last season’s stars Andrey Santos, Habib Diarra and Dilane Bakwa are now all in the squads of Chelsea, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.
In her absence, Rosenior has had 18 new signings, with Strasbourg being the biggest spender in France last summer with €127 million.
Liverpool’s problems have shown that money is not always the recipe for success, but Le Racing has experienced no such downturn.
Strasbourg currently sit third in Ligue 1, two points off the top, after winning five of their eight games and drawing 3-3 with PSG.
Rosenior described Joaquín Panichelli’s two-goal performance as “one of the best centre-forward performances I’ve ever seen live”.
The 23-year-old, who has thrived in the absence of injured captain and Chelsea transfer Emanuel Emegha, is Ligue 1’s top scorer after a period of weakness in Spain’s second division last season.
European football broadcaster Andy Brassell told The Pitch Prospect.com: “I think Rosenior is perhaps a bit modest because I think Panichelli is already benefiting from his coaching stint.
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The top scorers in Ligue 1
Joaquín Panichelli – Strasbourg (7 goals)
Mason Greenwood – Marseille (6 goals)
Ansu Fati – Monaco (5 goals)
“What we have seen since Rosenior has been in Strasbourg is that he is not just an intelligent, committed guy in front of the camera.
“He is an exceptional coach and player developer. And we saw that with Diego Moreira, who used to be at Chelsea and who has really changed under Rosenior.”
“He was someone who was loaned out to Lyon from Chelsea and seemed far from ready for top-level football.
“Then, a year later, he goes to Strasbourg and suddenly he is one of the best full-backs in the league because he changes his position.
“He is so good, not just with the ball but without the ball. His defensive awareness is fantastic now.
“In terms of scoring and creating, the runs he makes, the awareness he has when Strasbourg doesn’t have the ball, all those parts of his games – Rosenior has really changed him absolutely. It’s amazing.”
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Chelsea blow after buyout clause for ‘new Marcelo’ not taken into account
Moreira promises to be the first transfer mistake in the Blues’ symbiotic relationship with their BlueCo-owned club.
Santos and Djordje Petrovic excelled for Chelsea’s sister team last season, and Mamadou Sarr, Mike Penders and Kendry Paez will be hoping to have a similar experience in Strasbourg this season.
However, Moreira, dubbed the ‘new Marcelo’, was sold for a paltry £1.7m with no similar buy-back clause included in the deal between the two clubs for Mathis Amougou.
Brassell added that the 21-year-old’s success could see Strasbourg challenge Borussia Dortmund as a future elite finishing school.
“Football is a small community, people talk and people who have been coached by Rosenior go to their mates and their mates, [and say] “Mate, this guy changed my game. “This guy really helped me develop and get to the next level,” he added.
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“I think you saw that with Dilane Bakwa, who also got his big move to Nottingham Forest.
“You saw what happened with Andre Santos and he is now considered ready to start Premier League games – not all of them, but he is ready to start Premier League games in a Chelsea squad that is predominantly midfield.”
“Everything Rosenior has done since his time there is so impressive.”
Brassell continued: “Strasbourg have a great chance to not only reach the Champions League this year, but perhaps also reach the Champions League in subsequent years. I think that makes them an incredibly attractive prospect for young players.”
“We’ve talked about it several times: For example, is Dortmund still a real developer of young players? Is Monaco still a club where you, as a young player, have the feeling that you can develop further?”
“If you think about the competition that there is for players in their late teens or 2021, for those teams that are not quite at the elite level, who say: if you come to us for a few years, we will be your finishing school to reach top level football.”
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“You come and play for us for a few years and then you go to Chelsea or Real Madrid or Man City or Barcelona or Liverpool or wherever.
“I think if you’re Strasbourg you’re probably in a pretty good position, especially while Rosenior is the coach, to say: ‘Come to us, we’ll make you that guy.'”
“Strasbourg, with the resources they have, with the lineup they have, with the current financial situation of French football, I think they have a unique opportunity to carve out a little niche for themselves here and maybe even overtake Monaco and say this is the place to be as a top young player.”
“Of course it also makes them self-sufficient over time. If they can get Diego Moreira for a penny on the dollar and then suddenly a few years later they can sell him for 40, 50, 60 million or whatever. I mean, that’s a prime example, right?”