adminThomas Tuchel was sacked after Chelsea’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday. Brighton boss Graham Potter first met Chelsea owner Todd Boehly for talks on Wednesday. Potter signs a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have announced Graham Potter as their head coach after his departure from Brighton.
The 47-year-old has signed a five-year contract and will take charge of the team immediately.
Kyle MacAulay, the recruitment expert that’s been with him since his Ostersunds days, assistant head coach Billy Reid and first-team coach Bjorn Hamburg have also left Brighton to join Potter at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday in the wake of Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and just six games into the new Premier League season.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly met Potter in central London on Wednesday afternoon for what were described as “positive talks” about the Brighton manager’s future role at Stamford Bridge and the club’s plans to develop the whole football operation.
Those discussions continued early on Thursday morning, with the focus on the legal details of his contract and Potter’s backroom staff.
Chelsea made it clear they were prepared to meet Brighton’s exit clause figure for Potter. Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane, who are both out of work, as well as Sporting in Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim were all also on Chelsea’s radar.
Potter becomes the first managerial appointment of the Boehly era following his summer takeover. The American is still acting as sporting director having moved on director Marina Granovskaia, chairman Bruce Buck and technical and performance advisor Petr Cech in a complete overhaul of Roman Abramovich’s trusted staff. – Skysports.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter