Following the firing of Graham Potter on Sunday night by the club’s new owners, Chelsea is currently searching for their third manager of the year. After a little more than six months in his position, Potter lost his job after struggling to fit in at Stamford Bridge.
Following Thomas Tuchel’s dismissal by Chelsea’s owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in September of last year, the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager was hired. Although the administration was keen for their bet on Potter to pay off, the decision was made after the club lost 2-0 to Aston Villa at home on Saturday. Potter has struggled to make the transition. The interim head coach has been named as Bruno Saltor.
Chelsea, who have spent more than £500 million on new players since being acquired by Boehly and Clearlake last summer, dropped into the bottom half as a result of the defeat by Villa.
Potter, who was never popular with the audience, was under pressure due to a poor stretch of performance. The first leg of Chelsea’s quarterfinal against Real Madrid is next week, and he bought himself some time by getting to the last eight of the Champions League after overcoming Borussia Dortmund last month, but he was unable to maintain the run.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham gratefully for his commitment to Chelsea,” the co-controlling owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said. Graham is a coach and a person for whom we have the utmost respect. We are all unhappy in the decision because he has always acted with professionalism and integrity.
“Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.
“Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition. In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter‑final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid. Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future.”
Chelsea hasn’t chosen Potter’s replacement yet. They are most likely going to go after Julian Nagelsmann, who is free after receiving a shocking firing from Bayern Munich. They might also try to hire Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager of Tottenham, who has been unemployed since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer. After parting ways with Antonio Conte, Spurs want to bring Pochettino back to the team.
