Graham Potter, a Premier League coach from Brighton was hired by Chelsea's new American owners on Thursday, despite his lack of experience as a head coach at the top level of soccer, in a risky move.
To replace Thomas Tuchel, who was fired on Wednesday following what appeared to be a breakdown in his relationship with Chelsea's recently installed ownership family led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, the 47-year-old Potter agreed to a five-year contract.
While Potter has a less well-known coaching history and has only won one prize, the Swedish Cup in 2017, Tuchel has won the Champions League with Chelsea in the past and previously oversaw a locker room full of soccer superstars, including Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, at Paris Saint-Germain.
That occurred over a seven-year period (2011–18) at the small Swedish club Ostersund, which he took from the fourth division to the first division and subsequently for the first time into the Europa League.
Prior to taking over at Brighton in 2019, he led Swansea for one season in the second level of English soccer, leading the team to the FA Cup quarterfinals. Having finished tenth last season, the highest ever for the club, Brighton is now in fourth place in the Premier League.
Boehly stated the new coach "fits our goal," while Chelsea said Potter will bring "advanced football and innovative teaching" to the team.
Potter has extraordinary potential on the field, but he also possesses qualities and attributes off it that can help Chelsea become a more successful team, according to Boehly.
Potter, one of the nation's top tacticians, played primarily for lower-league English teams in an unremarkable career from 1992 to 2005 before retiring at the age of 30 and enrolling in college. His bold, exciting style of play has garnered praise, if not actual awards. Because of the way Potter's "players move with freedom and... have the bravery to play anywhere," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is a "huge fan."
And Boehly, who represents Chelsea's ownership, is persuaded that Potter is the right person to instill a long-term soccer culture and identity throughout the team at the outset of the new period.
The demands Potter will confront at Chelsea will be very different from those at his previous teams, but it is unlikely that he will have as much time to build a team as he has in the past.
He will be expected to compete for trophies and win games every week, according to former Chelsea player and assistant coach Jody Morris. "It's completely different from playing for a club where you are expected to finish in the middle of the pack and can go a few months without picking up a victory."
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