Having parted ways with Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday, Chelsea have announced the appointment of Graham Potter as the successor to the sacked German. The former Brighton and Hove Albion boss, however, bears the title of head coach for the time being, rather than manager.
“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as our new Head Coach, joining us on a five-year contract to bring his progressive football and innovative coaching to the Club,” the official statement reads.
Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard in January 2021, at a moment when the Blues were in a difficult situation, and went on to lead the team to Champions League glory that very season. In the Premier League, his Chelsea were widely perceived as the team most likely to join what has hitherto been a two-way race between Manchester City and Liverpool in the near future.
Nonetheless, the club spent around €250 million on signings this summer, on top of all the investments made in the previous two summers, and the results in the league were obviously not satisfactory. The Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday seems to have been the final straw, even though some reports suggest the managerial change had already been in the pipeline before that.
As for Potter, his exploits with Brighton have been notable. The Seagulls are now a formidable, compact team playing attractive football, and whoever takes that job will be grateful for the foundations in place.
There have been claims that midfielder Adam Lallana could take over on an interim basis as a player/coach. Other reports mentioned Brentford boss Thomas Frank as a candidate, but the Danish coach has since ruled out leaving the Bees.
Potter took four staff members with him to Chelsea, and Brighton have received a total of £21.5m as compensation for agreeing to terminate the contracts of the five men.
Meanwhile, The Athletic have reported that Tuchel has no intention of taking a break following his sacking, and he intends to get back into the managerial game as soon as possible.
