Graham Potter was fired by Chelsea after only six months in command, a decision that has shocked the team’s players, many of whom learned of it for the first time through the club’s Sunday night public announcement.
Now Chelsea need a permanent replacement to take over immediately. Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino are a few of the names being considered by the Chelsea management.
Chelsea’s owners already know Nagelsmann’s agent well, having negotiated the sale of Timo Werner, whom he also represents, to RB Leipzig last summer.
Nagelsmann also collaborated with the club’s current technical director Christopher Vivell and sporting director Laurence Stewart in Leipzig.
Chelsea intend to examine at least a few potential applicants for the full-time post, and they are determined to wait to decide.
With the firing of Potter, Chelsea’s Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital owners, who have spent more than £600 million on players, now find the team in the bottom half of the table, and have fired two managers in less than a year.
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Interestingly Potter was to do his pre-match press duties on Monday before Chelsea’s match against Liverpool, according to a media alert Chelsea gave out on Sunday morning. Nevertheless, by 3 p.m., the club had begun the removal process.
Potter’s contract, which had just over four years left, would have been worth almost £50 million. However, it is reportedly not fully owed by Chelsea.
The club owners watched the match from the stands at Stamford Bridge. The defeat to Villa on Saturday, which sent Chelsea into the bottom half of the standings, proved the breaking point.
Now whoever comes to lead Chelsea will have an uphill task considering they are 11th in the Premier League table and have a challenging quarter-final tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
