Southampton FC and West Brom handed Liam Rosenior blow as Strasbourg take action | OneFootball

Strasbourg have extended the contract of head coach Liam Rosenior amid interest from Championship sides such as Southampton and West Brom.

Following an extremely impressive set of results and performances in the calendar year of 2025, Ligue 1 side Strasbourg have decided to extend the contract of their head coach Liam Rosenior until the summer of 2028.

The former Hull City boss took charge of the BlueCo-owned Alsace-based outfit last summer and has them fighting for a top four finish and UEFA Champions League qualification from Ligue 1.

Both Southampton and West Brom were reported as holding an interest in bringing in the 40-year-old as their new boss.

The Saints are on the lookout for a new manager after parting company with Ivan Juric on 7 April, as are the Baggies, who relieved Tony Mowbray of his duties on 21 April.

Strasbourg extend Liam Rosenior's contract in major blow to Southampton, West Brom

As revealed by The Athletic on 25 April, Rosenior has extended his contract with Strasbourg until the summer of 2028.

It's said that he turned down multiple Premier League opportunities to remain with the Ligue 1 outfit.

The news of his renewal will come as a blow for a couple of members of next season’s Championship campaign, as both Southampton, relegated from the Premier League, and West Bromwich Albion had been linked with the 40-year-old former full-back.

Now Saints and Albion will have to definitely, if they hadn’t already, turn their attention away from Rosenior and narrow their focus to more realistic targets in the coming days and weeks.

Strasbourg were taken over as a club by BlueCo, who also operate Chelsea, in the summer of 2023 and their first season in charge with Patrick Vieira at the helm was an underwhelming one, overshadowed by fierce supporter protests against the ownership.

After a fairly controversial and, to many, unfair and unjust sacking at Hull City, Rosenior was the man appointed with taking the Strasbourg project on, and after a mixed first-half to the season, the former Derby County boss now has them punching above their weight.

Les Bleus et Blanc shared a goalless draw with Monaco last weekend to extend their unbeaten run of form to ten matches in Ligue 1 with just one loss in 17 matches since the start of December.

That excellent run of form has seen them give themselves a real chance at qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition next season as they challenge for the top four in a congested top-half of the table in France’s top-flight.

There is a bit of Championship experience in the squad with the likes of Andrew Omobamidele and Southampton loanee Sam Amo-Ameyaw, with Rosenior’s coaching credentials and general profile a clear attraction for the likes of Southampton and West Brom.

Southampton and West Brom manager search will continue

These two sides met in the play-off semi-finals of the 2023/24 Championship season with Southampton eventually comfortably prevailing before gaining promotion at Wembley.

It has been a miserable year since for Saints with Simon Rusk now in interim charge for a second time following the sackings of Russell Martin and Juric.

As well as Rosenior, they have been heavily linked with a move for Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl, who is the heavy favourite with the bookies, as well as another coach of English heritage in Ligue 1, Lens’ English-Belgian head coach Will Still.

West Brom, on the other hand, also look keen to appoint a young English coach, with journalist Alan Nixon reporting via his Patreon that the Baggies have marked out Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason, who is currently a part of Ange Postecoglou’s first-team staff at Spurs.

They sacked Mowbray earlier this week after a 3-1 defeat at home to Derby County on Easter Monday. Mowbray had taken over from Carlos Corberan earlier in the year, who departed for La Liga giants Valencia.

Strasbourg’s decision to stick by their impressive young coach has narrowed the pool for Southampton and West Brom to choose from, as they both seek a return to the Premier League next season.