Brighton and Hove boss Graham Potter is set to become Chelsea’s new head coach. Potter, who has been with the Seagulls since 2019, reportedly spoke with Chelsea owner Todd Boehly for an extended period on Wednesday. The 47-year-old manager has reportedly verbally agreed to become the Blues’ next boss.
Chelsea sacked former head coach Thomas Tuchel after a lethargic display against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday. However, the shock loss in Croatia was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Boehly and Tuchel were reportedly unable to agree on many things, including summer transfer plans. The German manager reportedly wanted to go after defender Matthijs de Ligt, while superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was completely on the new American owner’s radar. Neither transfer materialized for the West London club.
Potter is set to win the Chelsea job over other candidates like Mauricio Pochettino, Zinedine Zidane and Sporting manager Ruben Amorim. Pochettino was reportedly very interested in Chelsea’s work. Zidane, on the other hand, bets on another position. Sky Sports also reported that Amorim also recently spoke to Boehly about the job offer. However, it appears that Potter is the man to succeed Tuchel at Chelsea.
The Blues will have to pay Brighton a compensation package of around $24 million to get Potter off the South Coast. Chelsea will also have to pay their new head coach a salary.
While Potter has just a 31% winning percentage with Brighton, the manager took over in 2019 to keep the club in the Premier League. Not only did the Englishman achieve this, he led Brighton to ninth in the table last season. The Seagulls are currently fourth in the current campaign after winning four of their first six games.
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Graham Potter has arrived at Chelsea training ground in Cobham! pic.twitter.com/rHdRQJtH7k
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 8, 2022
If all goes according to plan, Potter could be on the touchline for Chelsea’s game against Fulham on Saturday. Brighton, meanwhile, will travel to face Bournemouth.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/PA Images
