Graham Potter emerges as frontrunner to replace Tuchel at Chelsea
Brighton manager Graham Potter has emerged as a frontrunner for the Chelsea job after the London club part company with Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel was shown the exit door following the Blues’ 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League group stage opener.
According to reports, the club approached Brighton immediately after sacking Tuchel on Wednesday.
The London club have been granted permission to speak to the highly-rated Englishman, Potter, over the vacancy.
The new ownership group led by Todd Boehly made a bold statement and said they would move swiftly to appoint Tuchel’s replacement.
“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition,” read the club’s statement.
The Brighton manager is the early favourite after the club’s strong start to the season. However, one cannot rule out the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Simeone and Roger Schmidt.
Meanwhile, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano added to the news that Chelsea has approached Potter for the managerial post.
“Contacts ongoing between Chelsea and Brighton for Graham Potter, as he’s the priority option — Mauricio Pochettino has been proposed to Todd Boehly as an available option in the four-name list. Talks ongoing — Boehly, on it,” tweeted Romano on his official Twitter account.
Potter started his managerial career in January 2011 with the Swedish club Östersund. He won three promotions and the Svenska Cupen with Östersund, leading them to the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League knockout stage. He was appointed manager of Championship club Swansea City in June 2018 and moved on to Brighton and Hove Albion of the Premier League a year later.
In his 13-year playing career, he played for, among other, Southampton.