Graham Potter, a former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach, has been named Chelsea’s next manager.
“Potter is one of the most exciting managers in the game, starting his adventure in Sweden before bringing his abilities to the English game over the past four seasons,” the club said in a statement on Thursday.
The 47-year-old has a degree in fields other than football and has used these experiences to construct a collaborative, forward-thinking approach to producing offensive and winning football.
Graham Potter arrives at Chelsea to become new head coach following Thomas Tuchel’s sacking
Graham Potter has arrived at Chelsea’s training ground to take over as the club’s next head coach in place of Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel was fired on Wednesday, six games into the new Premier League season, following Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
On Wednesday afternoon, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly met Potter, who has a verbal agreement with the club, in central London for “positive talks” about the Brighton manager’s future role at Stamford Bridge and the club’s plans to develop the entire football operation.
Those discussions resumed early Thursday morning, with the emphasis on the legal details of his contract and Potter’s backroom staff. On Thursday afternoon, the 47-year-old arrived at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground to sign his contract.
Potter is also expected to bring three of his closest friends from Brighton with him, with deals completed for Kyle MacAulay, the recruitment expert who has been with him since his Ostersunds days, as well as assistant head coach Billy Reid and first-team coach Bjorn Hamberg.
Chelsea made it clear that they were willing to meet Brighton’s exit clause for Potter.
Chelsea were also interested in Mauricio Pochettino, Zinedine Zidane, and Sporting in Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim, who are both out of work.
Following his summer takeover, Potter will become the first managerial appointment of the Boehly era. The American is still acting as sporting director after bringing in director Marina Granovskaia, chairman Bruce Buck, and technical and performance advisor Petr Cech as part of a complete overhaul of Roman Abramovich’s trusted team.
