Brighton‘s Graham Potter, former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane are top of Chelsea‘s shortlist to replace Thomas Tuchel as head coach, sources have told ESPN.
Chelsea sacked Tuchel on Wednesday, hours after his 100th game in charge ended with a 1-0 Champions League defeat away at Dinamo Zagreb.
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Sources have told ESPN that the club are keen to approach Brighton to speak to Potter, who has excelled on the south coast since taking charge in 2019.
Brighton finished in ninth place with 51 points last season — their highest tally in the Premier League — and Potter is under contract until 2025.
Potter, 47, has won plaudits for Brighton’s attacking style of play, and their progress has continued unabated this season despite losing midfielder Yves Bissouma to Spurs and defender Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for a combined fee of more than £90 million.
Pochettino is out of work after being sacked by Paris Saint-Germain, but ESPN has previously reported that the Argentine coach would be open to a return to English football. He was considered for the Manchester United job this summer before Erik ten Hag’s appointment at Old Trafford.
Zidane is also a free agent after resigning from Madrid in May last year, saying the LaLiga club lacked faith in him despite delivering three Champions League titles in a row during his first stint in charge at the Bernabeu.
Chelsea are keen to make a swift appointment, but there is no candidate immediately lined up to replace Tuchel. It remains likely the club will face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday with a member of the backroom staff in interim charge.
