Who is Graham Potter? Chelsea's successor to Thomas Tuchel as manager

Stuart Telford

Updated: 8 Sept 2022 16:06 BST
4 min read

Graham Potter on the touchline with Brighton. — © ProShots

Thomas Tuchel has been sacked by Chelsea, with Graham Potter arriving from Brighton to replace the German as head coach at Stamford Bridge.

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Potter has done a stellar job with Brighton in recent seasons, steering a club hotly tipped for relegation to finishes of 15th, 16th and ninth in his three full seasons at Falmer Stadium.

Chelsea have paid a reported £21 million in compensation to bring Potter and his backroom staff to the club and he has penned a five-year deal.

A tactically versatile coach, he also helped mould Marc Cucurella into a left wing-back who earned a £62m/€72m move to Chelsea this summer.

Now set to be reunited with the Spaniard at Stamford Bridge, what will the 47-year-old bring to the Blues?

Football Transfers takes a closer look…

What formation does Potter like to play?

One of the standout qualities with Potter is that he isn't married to any one formation or tactical system - he'd rather let the players at his disposal dictate the rest.

Last season he used a back four 17 times in the Premier League, a back three 21 times, while oscillating between a lone striker and a strike partnership in almost equal measure.

Stylistically it is an approach not too dissimilar to Carlo Ancelotti's at Real Madrid. The Italian tactician won the Champions League with Real last year using a 4-3-3, but with AC Milan in 2007 using a 4-4-1-1.

🤔 "Am I watching Brighton or @FCBarcelona?!"

🇨🇴 A year ago today!#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/zgJhwdM9bD
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 10, 2019

How good is Potter?

Really quite, is the quick answer. A left-back of little note in his playing career - even if he did play briefly with Southampton in the Premier League - Potter cut his coaching teeth in Sweden with Ostersund, whom he led to three consecutive promotions.

After taking them into the Europa League knock-out rounds in 2018, he was appointed by Swansea. A 10th place finish in the Championship and a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals in 2019 - in which they led Manchester City 2-0 before a 3-2 loss - caught Brighton's eye in 2019.

"When you look at what Graham Potter has done, the training is good, no matter how big the egos are," former Scotland striker Kris Boyd told Sky Sports.

"As long as you can relate to your manager and see there is improvement in the team, egos don't matter because you'll get a group that goes with the manager because he is so talented, and he is so proven with the results."

What clubs were interested in Potter?

Manchester United looked at Potter before appointing Erik ten Hag as Ralf Rangnick's successor in May, apparently shying away from the Englishman's lack of Champions League experience.

Perhaps the most tactically astute young English manager in the league, Todd Boehly has not left that stop him, and Potter could get his chance at Europe's top table with the Blues against Red Bull Salzburg next Wednesday.