The next Class of '92?! New Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior wants to emulate 'brave' Sir Alex Ferguson's iconic Man Utd side with young Blues squad

Rosenior will take charge of his first game with the Blues on Saturday night when they travel across the capital to Charlton in the third round of the FA Cup. The game could give the former Strasbourg coach a chance to use some underutilised members of his squad against Championship opposition and allow players a clean slate to impress the 41-year-old, who succeeded Enzo Maresca earlier this week.

Maresca had complained that he had been told which members of his squad he could select and that he had to manage individuals' minutes, even when in tight games. Rosenior has insisted that he will be given freedom to make those decisions, but he emphasised his desire to develop a young core at the club.

Chelsea already have the youngest squad in the Premier League, one which has been criticised for perhaps being too young in the past and has been unable to sustain genuine title challenges. The Italian coach eked out much of what he could and lifted the Conference League and the Club World Cup, but was still given his marching orders.

The Chelsea hierarchy have turned to Rosenior, whom thy know well from his time in Ligue 1, to transform a stale side into a more consistent force. The new man in charge is adamant that he can bring success, even if it means following an old blueprint.

"I was a Manchester United fan and I am now massively a Chelsea fan," Rosenior told the media ahead of the trip to The Valley. "I remember Sir Alex Ferguson was brave enough to put six or seven players aged between 19 and 21 into a title-winning team because he believed in them.

"They grew and won trophy after trophy. It was an amazing period in that club's history. Without that bravery, it doesn't happen. There is potential for that here."

He pointed to the team’s key players – Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer and Reece James – and labelled them "world-class players and still very, very young".

Rosenior also believes that his Strasbourg side is similar to the Chelsea team he has inherited. The English coach explained that, "if you watched the Strasbourg team I coached, everyone enjoyed watching them because they played with intensity. Why? Because they were young, fit, less prone to injury. I'm going to work really hard to create that here".

He continued to admit that he will have to "train the players right, work with the medical team and look after them because they have outstanding careers ahead". Yet, Rosenior also believes that this does not prevent the team from being successful and capable of winning major titles in the near future.

"If I thought it was impossible to win with this group, I wouldn't have come," he said.

Chelsea are still competing on all fronts for silverware and begin their FA Cup campaign on Saturday. In the league, the Blues have fallen away and been cut adrift from the title race, sitting 18 points off of leaders Arsenal. They could, however, put a dent in the Gunners' season in the Carabao Cup, with the London rivals facing off in a two-legged semi-final.

The west Londoners are still set to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, but may have to settle for a place in the play-off round with a top-eight spot set to evade them. They are just two points off of Ateltico Madrid, yet are five spots below them in the 36-team table. They have Pafos and Napoli still to play.