Chelsea new manager LIVE: Graham Potter appointed as new head coach
Todd Boehly and the new owners at Stamford Bridge are set to appoint their own head coach as the Blues’ upheaval continues
Graham Potter has been announced as the new head coach of Chelsea, following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday.
New owner Todd Boehly acted swiftly to dismiss the German following a Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night, with the aim being to quickly put a new man in place before the weekend Premier League encounter with Fulham. Potter has now been confirmed as that man with a five-year contract having been signed, the Stamford Bridge club confirmed. The compensation paid to Brighton is expected to be around £16m, with three staff members also moving with Potter.
Chelsea’s move was all the more surprising at this stage of the season given Tuchel played a prominent role in choosing transfer targets this summer, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed only a week ago and other big-money arrivals including Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling. Find the latest updates and reaction to Chelsea’s new manager below:
Graham Potter lauded for getting “the best out of the squad"
TalkSport pundit Jason Cundy - a former player for Chelsea in the early 90s - is looking forward to seeing the individual improvement that Graham Potter brings to the squad at Stamford Bridge.
“I’ve seen what he’s done, I’ve seen with [Leandro] Trossard and [Pascal] Gross - I’m amazed those two players are still there. I thought Manchester United would go in for at least one of those.
“He gets good players and turns them into brilliant footballers. Look at what he’s done for [Marc] Cucurella. Cucurella hasn’t been the same player since he came to Chelsea!
“What he has done for some of these players, and the style of football and the way they play. You look at some of these players now.
“You think [Alexis] Mac Allister, the way that he’s turned into this brilliant [player]. He gets the best out of the squad that he’s got and I’ll tell you what, he’s got a hell of a squad at Chelsea. Make no mistake.
“I can’t wait to see when he gets his hand on this squad, what we look like. If we’re anything like Brighton, then we are in for a treat.”
Graham Potter ‘expected' to sign with Chelsea tonight
The Athletic are reporting that Chelsea are “in the process” of drawing up agreements to land Graham Potter as the replacement for Thomas Tuchel.
Everyone basically now appears in agreement that this deal is going through and it’s just a matter of formalising the deal.
David Ornstein says it’s “expected the Englishman will sign a contract with the Stamford Bridge club tonight”, after all the paperwork is sorted.
Graham Potter set to reunite with Marc Cucurella
There has been a bit of comment about Marc Cucurella being in the mud, so to speak, after having left Brighton in the summer in a big-money move to Chelsea. But it doesn’t appear to be based in much fact: Potter spoke extremely well on the left-back after his departure.
Had it been Wes Fofana and Brendan Rodgers reuniting we might have had a somewhat different situation, but here’s what Potter said after the “win-win” switch for Cucurella:
“We didn’t want to sell him and we didn’t need to sell him,” said Potter.
“But, at the same time, you understand that if a Champions League club comes with Champions League resources and finance and the player indicates there’s a desire to do it then it’s very difficult for us. Then we have to make sure we get the right fee, I think the right fee has been got.
“It’s another situation where everybody’s won in terms of the player’s got a great opportunity, the selling club have got a good fee and the buying club have got a good player, so win, win, win all around.
“Marc was a fantastic player for us, great guy, I like him a lot so I wish him well and we move forward as a group.”
Graham Potter applauds Brighton’s recruitment process after Marc Cucurella sale
Albion were reluctant to sell the 24-year-old but managed to negotiate a profit of almost £45million
Brighton’s game against Crystal Palace postponed due to planned rail strike
One little detail here - Brighton themselves do play Bournemouth this weekend but do not have a game the following weekend.
The rail strike has put paid to that, with the Premier League citing “exceptional circumstances” to postpone Crystal Palace’s trip to the Amex.
If you haven’t been, it’s out in the middle of nowhere about half an hour from Brighton itself and the stadium is serviced by a rail line which stops just a couple of minutes from the ground. Great to get to, dismal to get out from if you leave at the same time as tens of thousands of other people and largely impossible to visit without trains running.
So at least a few extra days for the Seagulls to get their succession plans in order, at least after Saturday.
Brighton’s game against Crystal Palace postponed due to planned rail strike
The Premier League said the decision followed ‘exceptional circumstances’ related to the upcoming industrial action
Graham Potter leaves Brighton after saying goodbye
Graham Potter all set to head off to London to finalise his switch as Chelsea head coach.
He won’t be holding training with Brighton today ahead of their next fixture and has said his goodbyes ahead of a departure.
Will Potter cope with Chelsea demands?
Former England striker Stan Collymore is effusive in his praise of Graham Potter - but there are concerns over the club he’s (seemingly) walking into.
Thomas Tuchel, let’s not forget, won the Champions League with them not that long ago and was asked to go above and beyond his coaching role this summer.
His reward was a quick firing. Potter has, Swansea aside, favoured longer-term roles to build sustained improvement. Will he get that at the Bridge?
Graham Potter: His career so far
Graham Potter’s managerial career so far:
2011-18: Ostersund, Sweden. He was promoted twice, taking them from the fourth tier initially, then achieved another promotion to the Allsvenskan - the top flight - for the first time in the club’s history. In 2017 Potter won the Swedish Cup to seal a remarkable journey, meaning his final year saw Potter guide his club in European action. Second place in the Europa League was good enough go progress, with Arsenal knocking them out.
2018-19: Swansea City. A run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and a 10th-place finish in the Championship highlighted his ability to improve teams once more and Brighton quickly came calling.
2019-present: Brighton and Hove Albion. A £3m compensation deal took Potter to the Amex three years ago and he guided them to 15th, 16th and - last season - ninth. They currently sit fourth after six games.
Graham Potter wants three Brighton staff members at Chelsea
The Evening Standard report that Graham Potter has asked for three backroom staff members to be signed from Brighton as well as himself, while in talks with Chelsea.
Assistants Billy Reid and Bjorn Hamberg are long-term colleagues of Potter and he intends to bring them to Stamford Bridge, while Kyle Macaulay is the third - a recruitment analyst who acts as the go-between in transfer dealings between club staff and coaching group.
Tuchel’s assistants have also left the club after his sacking.
£20m compensation claimed for Chelsea to land Graham Potter
Earlier reports suggested £16m, now John Cross of the Mirror claims £20m. That’s a hefty old fee to land a manager, though of course Chelsea have shelled out more than this repeatedly over the past few weeks.
Plus there’s the issue of Tuchel’s compensation, and any additional fees to bring in staff. The Blues are certainly committing early to a course of action.
Chelsea’s sacking of Thomas Tuchel mocked by Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville
Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have appeared to mock Chelsea over the club’s sacking of manager Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea announced the German’s departure on Wednesday (7 September), following Tuesday’s surprise loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the opening round of Champions League fixtures.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club,” a Chelsea statement read. “Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.”
Reacting to the sacking of Tuchel, who was appointed at Chelsea in January 2021, Carragher shared a video of the German’s recent, heated exchange with Tottenham coach Antonio Conte.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville mock Chelsea after Thomas Tuchel sacking
The German’s departure as manager was announced on Wednesday morning, after the Blues’ surprise Champions League loss to Dinamo Zagreb
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