Chelsea have officially confirmed the signing of the new head coach they had allegedly been eyeing for some time – the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter – on a five-year contract and the new owners are looking to him to have an impact on the side to arrest the team’s perilous slide down the chute as soon as possible.
Todd Boehly’s side was eagerly looking into signing Brighton head coach after hastily dispatching Thomas Tuchel following their shocking defeat to Dinamo Zagreb. The loss in the Champions League proved to be the nail in the manager’s coffin that Todd Boehly was waiting for to officially dispense with the services of the German, after losses to Leeds and Southampton had set the tone for the poor results that further followed.
Potter has signed for a five-year period at Cobham, possibly an indication that Potter is hired for an ongoing project, similar to what he went through in his time at Brighton, having been an integral, fundamental part of the club’s transformation into one that is now delivering consistent winning performances.
The Blues coughed up £21 million to Brighton as compensation for Potter and his backroom team, according to Simon Stoney. This infers that the club will be adopting a significant proportion of the Englishman’s tactical and strategic methods in the coming months and years.
Potter will be bringing along his focus on tactical flexibility whilst simultaneously avoiding the stereotype of “gritty” and overly defensive footballing tactics, which includes hanging on to the ball and focusing instead on progressing up the pitch in a way that widens the gaps in the opposing defence.