The player Graham Potter wishes Tuchel never sold at Chelsea
James Shearman
- Updated: 8 Sept 2022 13:29 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are in the market for a new manager after sacking Thomas Tuchel and Brighton’s Graham Potter appears the most likely replacement.
The Blues spent a record €296 million on new players such as Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer, but results have not followed.
They have lost three of their last five games in all competitions and could only muster three shots on goal in Tuesday night's 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League - Tuchel's last game in charge.
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Now, Potter has been given permission to hold talks with Chelsea and is the heavy favourite for the vacant head coach role, while Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are also on the club's shortlist.
The Blues will have to shell out a massive fee, with the Seagulls boss having a £16 million release clause in his contract.
That outlay would represent the second-highest fee for a manager in football history, behind Bayern Munich’s £21m hiring of Julian Naglesmann in 2021.
The player Graham Potter wishes Tuchel never sold at Chelsea
Given the depth of Chelsea's squad, breaking into the first-team picture was always going to be a struggle for Billy Gilmour.
N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher and deadline day signing Denis Zakaria are all on the books for the 2022-23 season in the central midfield position.
As a result, the Blues decided to let go of Gilmour in a £9m deal to Graham Potter's Brighton.
Been told Todd Boehly was already well informed on Graham Potter, his ideas, concepts and methods when he decided to sign Cucurella from Brighton this summer 🔵💭 #CFC
Many managers have been offered to CFC but Potter, only priority.
More on Tuchel sack: https://t.co/0qRHIIdlVZ pic.twitter.com/AUwXWGiDjb— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 8, 2022
Gilmour, a similar player to Chelsea's Jorginho, lacks physicality but is excellent on the ball.
This is a necessary trait for players to succeed in Potter's possession-based system, meaning he was an excellent addition to the Seagulls' squad.
But it seems as though Potter is now leaving the south coast for west London, meaning Gilmour will not get to work under the 47-year-old.
The Scotsman could either have rotated with Jorginho or replaced him at Stamford Bridge under Potter, had Tuchel not sold him a week ago.
