Chelsea is set to move quickly to appoint a new manager in the wake of Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, with the new owners hoping to appoint a long-term head coach to oversee a revolution at Stamford Bridge.
Current Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter is top of their list, and the Blues have already been given permission by Brighton’s owners to speak to the manager.
Here’s why Chelsea are desperate to land the Seagulls’ boss – and their other options should a deal fall through.
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GRAHAM POTTER
47-year-old Graham Potter has not quite burst onto the Premier League scene as a manager. Instead, he has enjoyed a 17-year slog up the coaching ladder, starting out at the very bottom after a 13-year playing career in England’s middle tiers. He began by running university football programs at Hull then working as an assistant coach for the England Universities side then at Leeds Metropolitan University.
His first break as a manger saw him move to Sweden in 2011 to take charge of minnows Ostersund. He had the fourth-tier club promoted three times at breakneck speed, reaching the top flight for the first time in their history. He didn’t stop there. Ostersund won the Svenska Cupen, and Potter guided the side to the last-32 of the Europa League in 2018 – on a threadbare budget less than £1 million – even beating Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates on the way.
It was a breakout moment. Recently-relegated Swansea City signed him in their push to return to the Premier League. They would fail in that bid, finishing 10th, but Potter had impressed in his first season in England, even giving Manchester City a major scare in the FA Cup.
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Brighton came calling – and in 2019, Potter was suddenly a Premier League coach. Since then, he has become one of the league’s rising managerial stars, playing an attractive brand of football, demonstrating tactical flexibility and innovation, and getting consistent results. Brighton finished 15th, 16th, and then ninth last season – their best ever top flight result – all while consistently selling their biggest stars and somehow managing to comfortably plug the gaps. Meanwhile, he has been praised for the way in which he develops the culture of a club and unites the playing group. A Master’s degree in leadership and emotional intelligence might have something to do with that.
Equally important is his development of young talent – something which Chelsea believe has been lacking under Tuchel. Young guns Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have been sold. Billy Gilmour was sold to Potter’s Brighton, while Levi Colwill also went to the south coast on loan.
Potter’s stint at Brighton has seen him spot undervalued players and nurture them into top talents, with Pascal Gross, Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma among those ranks.
It was only a matter of time before Potter got the call from a big six club – and Tottenham have already previously been linked to a move. His sensational start to the new campaign has only solidified his burgeoning reputation. Brighton currently sit an incredible fourth in the league, having won four and drawn once in their first six matches. That includes a 2-1 win over Manchester United on the opening weekend, and was capped off most recently with a stunning 5-2 demolition of Leicester despite conceding in the very first minute.
For Chelsea’s new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, led by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali, Potter offers a modern manager who is both incredibly gifted and boasts an impressive resume of overseeing long-term projects at clubs, delivering both success on the field and a strong culture off the park. He would also mark a clear departure from former owner Roman Abramovich’s approach of signing coaches with plenty of trophies on their resume – Champions League or domestic titles. Potter’s best result is ninth in the league, after all.
Chelsea would have to fork out over £12 million to Brighton to buy out his contract – in addition to paying out Tuchel’s own contract for around £6.9m – but the club has reportedly given the Blues permission to deal with Potter with a meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon (local).
But with the two clubs having done three player transfers in the recently-closed window, the stage is set for Potter to follow.
The Telegraph reports the Blues: “could even have a new man in place in time for Saturday’s lunchtime Premier League game against Fulham.”
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Chelsea’s shortlist also reportedly includes Zinedine Zidane, the legendary French player and manager. Zidane became the first manager to win three Champions League titles in a row while in charge of Real Madrid (2015-16 to 2017-18), but has been out of work after a second successful stint at the Spanish giants ended last year.
He’s long been on the wishlist of English clubs, too. Chelsea sought out Zidane in February 2019 to replace ex-manager Maurizio Sarri, but he turned them down. Zidane also recently rejected a bid from Manchester United before they signed Erik ten Hag.
One of his key reasons behind the Manchester United rejection was that he does not fluently speak English.
“The language, for example. Some conditions make things more difficult. When I’m told: ‘Do you want to go to Manchester?’ I understand English but I don’t fully master it,” he told L’Equipe.
“I know there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language. But I work differently. To win, many elements come into play. It is a global context. I know what I need to win. And I want to put everything on my side to optimise victory.”
Zidane is reportedly also holding out hope that he can replace Dider Deschamps as manager of France’s national side – something that is very possible should Les Bleus disappoint at this year’s World Cup.
MAURICIO POCHETTINO
After he was let go by Paris Saint-Germain in July, Mauricio Pochettino remains one of the most high-profile managers in football that is readily available.
The Argentine knows the English top flight well, having spent well over 300 games in Premier League dugouts for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.
It was at White Hart Lane where Pochettino enjoyed the most success in his managerial career, taking Spurs within inches of a Premier League title in the 2016/17 season as well as a Champions League final in 2018/19.
He also played a pivotal role in moulding Harry Kane into the goal machine he is today.
Although he didn’t have the success he would have wanted at PSG, Pochettino gained even more experience working with some serious star power in his playing squad, a quality that front runner Graham Potter simply cannot boast.
However, the Argentine has stated previously he would rather “work on my farm in Argentina” than manage a rival of former clubs Spurs or Espanyol.
Sure, Chelsea aren’t the direct rivals of Tottenham, but the frosty handshake moment between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte in the first game of the season showed there isn’t any love lost between the two London outfits.
Pochettino to Chelsea makes sense, but is it the move Boehly wants? Time will tell.
ANGE POSTECOGLOU … TO BRIGHTON
Should Potter go, and it’s shaping up that way, then Brighton will be on the lookout for a new manager.
The Seagulls have proven to be a shrewd club when it comes to transfer dealings, extracting every possible penny from the purchasing club and replacing the departed stars with cheaper alternatives who grow and prosper at the Amex.
And the favourite for the Brighton job, according to one betting market is: Ange Postecoglou.
Betfair has pegged the Aussie ahead of the competition at $6.
Postecoglou has overseen a revolution since taking over at Celtic in 2021, guiding the Hoops to a league title and a Scottish League Cup in his first season.
However, former Celtic star Chris Sutton believes a move down south for Postecoglou would be a “downgrade”, especially given Celtic are on a Champions League journey.
“Ange Postecoglou will be linked with managerial jobs in the Premier League and I’m sure will eventually go down south but he’s only just got started at Celtic and he’s building something special,” Sutton wrote on Twitter.
“He certainly wouldn’t downgrade to a club Brighton’s size just yet … why would he?”
