One day after the separation of coach Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea FC named the successor in Graham Potter. The Premier League club from London signed the coach from league rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 47-year-old has signed a five-year contract, the club said. “Potter is one of the most exciting coaches in the sport,” Chelsea wrote on its website.
Potter has been the coach of the “Seagulls” since 2019, who are currently two places and three points ahead of Chelsea in the table. The former Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion professional had previously coached Swedish club Östersunds FK for seven years. He was Swansea City manager from 2018 to 2019. In Brighton he managed to keep the team in the Premier League despite significantly less financial means than most of his competitors. The team from southern England finished ninth last season.
million fee
After Potter’s verbal commitment, Chelsea still had to agree with Brighton. According to information from the “Mirror”, the transfer fee for the desired coach should be around 23 million euros. “I’m incredibly proud and excited to represent Chelsea, this fantastic football club,” Potter was quoted as saying on his new club’s website. He said he was “extremely excited to be working with the new Chelsea FC ownership group and to develop a team and a culture that our amazing fans can be proud of.”
After a mixed start to the season, Chelsea surprisingly parted ways with Tuchel on Wednesday (September 7th, 2022), who still had a contract until the summer of 2024. The Londoners had previously lost their opening match in the Champions League. According to consistent media reports, the reason for the separation is said to have been Tuchel’s tense relationship with the club management with Todd Boehly at the top and with some players.