Chelsea sacks Graham Potter as their head coach with immediate effect

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has been sacked from his position after less than seven months in charge. The Blues fell into the bottom half of the Premier League following Sunday’s 2-0 home loss to ninth placed Aston Villa. This was Potter’s 11th defeat in 31 games since replacing Thomas Tuchel in September. 

It is reported that Bruno Saltor, a coach who alongside Potter left Brighton to join Chelsea, will serve as interim head coach. 

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, the co-controlling owners said in a statement: “On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea.

"We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.

"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."

As per the sources, the decision to axe Potter was taken by club’s sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, but with the full backing of the board. 

Potter was told of the news in the face to face talks at the club’s Cobham training base on Sunday and sources have said a compromise was reached over his payroll, implying he’ll receive less than the actual value of his contract in severance terms, 

Saturday’s loss has pushed Chelsea to 11th in the league standings with a negative goal difference after yet another disappointing evening during which the home fans chanted “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Potter. 

The former Chelsea boss had been under tremendous pressure for some time given the unfavourable outcomes despite the new owners splurging more than £550m on new signings since completing their takeover of the club last May. That includes the record signing of midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for  £106.8 m two months ago. 

Chelsea play Liverpool at home on Tuesday and lock horns with Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter final tie later this month. 

As per the sources, the senior figures at the club admire Julian Nagelsmann, who was abruptly removed from his head coach position at Bayern Munich on March 24, but Chelsea are not yet advanced in identifying a permanent replacement for Potter. 

Sources have also told us that Boehly and Eghbali had been determined to back Potter despite the club’s woeful form but felt they had to do the necessary with Chelsea lying 12 points off the Champions League qualification spots. 

Chelsea paid a £21m buyout clause to release Potter from Brighton, offering him a five year deal at Stamford Bridge. He leaves having won just seven of his 22 league games and recorded an overall win rate of just 39%, the lowest by any permanent Chelsea manager this century. 

The 47 year old previously described his position as “the toughest job in football” mentioning the changes at all levels of the club following British govt. sanctions on former owner Roman Abramovich for alleged links to Russia President Vladimir Putin, which led to the club’s sale last year.