Chelsea

Chelsea have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel six matches into the Premier League season.

Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea's history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here. Todd Boehly has axed Tuchel just three months after completing his takeover of the club. Chelsea are expected to approach Brighton later on Wednesday for permission to speak to Graham Potter about their manager vacancy.

We'll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chelsea FC PLC news every morning. The new US owners of Chelsea Football Club have sacked head ...

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Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are top of Chelsea's shortlist to replace Thomas Tuchel, sources have told ESPN.

He was considered for the [Manchester United](/soccer/team?id=360) job this summer before Erik ten Hag's appointment at Old Trafford. [Yves Bissouma](https://www.espn.com.sg/soccer/player/_/id/232810/Yves-Bissouma) to Spurs and defender [Marc Cucurella](https://www.espn.com.sg/soccer/player/_/id/259910/Marc-Cucurella) to Chelsea for a combined fee of more than £90m. [Brighton](/soccer/club/_/id/331/brighton-hove-albion) have given [Chelsea](/soccer/team?id=363) permission to speak to Graham Potter as the club seek a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, sources have told ESPN.

Chelsea news and transfers as things happen on Wednesday in the wake of their defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

[Chelsea](https://www.football.london/all-about/chelsea) actually started well in Zagreb last night. Tuchel's side laboured in attack once more and despite a lively start, once Mislav Orsic opened the scoring, Aubameyang's impact became less and less noticeable. With Thiago Silva left at home, it was no surprise Thomas Tuchel turned to the experience of Azpilicueta, who started on the right of the back three. The lack of invention, of repeatable attacking patterns that result in chances, was evident once more and something Tuchel has to change. Even more so when considered after Mislav Orsic scampered clear of the Chelsea defence and finished beyond It is still early in the season but with Tuchel unable to explain the performance against Dinamo, blaming himself and his players, he must find answers quickly. Everton manager Frank Lampard is slowly clawing his way out of the danger zone joining Steve Cooper, Bruno Lage and Ralph Hasenhüttl around the 16/1 mark. Tuchel had seen enough and the majority of Blues supporters on social media had seen their wish granted. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here. You see the crowd the whole game, but I feel like the way we played and the way we started the game, we should have killed it off at the beginning." It was another disappointing result and performance for Thomas Tuchel last night as Chelsea fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League group stage opener. Having already laboured to a poor start in the Premier League there is now increasing pressure on Tuchel to overturn Chelsea's fortunes after form has dipped since the new year.

GOAL looks at Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea record and his relationships at the club to find out why he was sacked.

However, it is clear that the situation had been irreparably soured through a combination of strained relationships and unacceptable results. Undoubtedly, it was not just three poor results out of seven that led to Chelsea's decision to sack Tuchel. So it's on me, it's on us, we need to find solutions. Tuchel's fate was sealed just seven games into the 2022-23 season after he managed the team to three wins a draw and three defeats. Tuchel managed to revive their fortunes in early 2022, but the damage had been done and they were always playing catch-up to Man City and Liverpool, who tore away in a two-horse race. Indeed, come December 2021, the Blues were top of the table, but things soon deteriorated that winter, with a narrow defeat to West Ham marking the beginning of an underwhelming festive run which saw them drop points against Everton, Wolves and Brighton. Across his 20-month tenure at Chelsea, Tuchel led his team to continental and global glory, securing the Champions League in 2020-21 with victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, before going on to win the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Premier League Tuchel's overall record at Chelsea saw him post a 60 per cent win rate, with 60 victories in 100 competitive games across all competitions - an enviable statistic by any standard. Tuchel's final act as Blues head coach was to preside over [a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.](https://www.goal.com/en/lists/chelsea-winners-losers-and-ratings-as-dinamo-zagreb-shock-wealthy-blues/bltdabd7225426b321d) "We are clearly not there, where we need to be and where we can be. Champions League

Tuesday night, following Chelsea's 1-0 defeat in their Champions League opener at Dinamo Zagreb, Thomas Tuchel faced the cameras looking a little bit like ...

And the sort that can come back to haunt you. [Denis Zakaria](https://www.espn.com.sg/soccer/player/_/id/222628/Denis-Zakaria) and [Carney Chukwuemeka](https://www.espn.com.sg/soccer/player/_/id/294317/Carney-Chukwuemeka)) haven't played a single minute. So now, Chelsea have to reload on the fly. And because contrary to popular belief, there is no endless supply of cash; whoever comes in will be working with more limited resources than he would have otherwise, which will only make the rebuild trickier. You don't need to be a body language expert to note how his gaunt, praying mantis-like frame looked even more stressed over the past few weeks. They couldn't hang on to Granovskaia, Cech and McLachlan, and they wanted to bring in the right experts to replace them. There's a reason nobody has successfully worked this way since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson: It doesn't work at the highest level. Boehly, who wrestled in college and still has that stocky, amateur grappler look, is no doubt a very bright man and has plenty of experience owning a sports team. He really was the guy flying around Europe, talking to agents and intermediaries and negotiating contracts with input from Tuchel. That is especially the case when you're acquiring players and signing contracts essentially without a front office, since the previous regime of managing director Marina Granovskaia, sporting director Petr Cech and scouting and recruitment guru Scott McLachlan had all either left or were leaving. [Chelsea](/soccer/team?id=363)'s 1-0 defeat in their Champions League opener at [Dinamo Zagreb](/soccer/team?id=597), Thomas Tuchel faced the cameras looking a little bit like Dennis Hopper's character in "True Romance" after he gets the kiss of death from Christopher Walken and takes a drag of his cigarette. It's about reality."

LONDON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chelsea sacked Thomas Tuchel as first team coach on Wednesday morning, just hours after losing their Champions League debut 1-0 ...

Aubameyang and Fofana just arrived at the club. Chelsea also reached the FA Cup and Carabeo Cup finals, both of which they lost to Liverpool on penalties. This summer Chelsea has been active in the transfer market after signing Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Some continuity, finally, at Chelsea Football Club. Sacking your manager seven games into the season, with more than £250m spent on players and a couple of ...

His appointment would be a victory for rewarding talent and earning your step up, just as it is hard to imagine even Brighton’s supporters would begrudge him the chance, if only for the intrigue of watching him adapt and learn. Perhaps Tuchel himself will now be placed in escrow and donated to victims of war around the world. Tuchel was hired by an entirely different group of people, and there have been whispers of tension. In the general silence and confusion it seemed for a while that Tuchel was basically explaining the Ukrainian war to the people of Britain via a series of unforthcoming post-match interviews. Here was a man in a beanie hat and a tracksuit who could at least offer some kind of gravitas and plain speaking, the sense of being good in a crisis, like the neighbour who comes knocking at your door two days into the collapse of all human society wearing a hunting cap and a cagoule and offering to build you a bivouac. And really Tuchel was never going to match that high, always seemed to be running to catch up with himself from that point. The proceeds from the sale of the club are still sitting in the bank account of a man described by the British government as “a pro-Kremlin oligarch”. Little wonder there might be some bumps, a little drop in the levels. He led two different clubs to the final of the Champions League in the past three seasons. Judged by purely sporting standards this is a careless, undeserving, arguably quite flaky move by an owner who has zero inside knowledge of the industry (is this an issue? [Sacking your manager](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/07/chelsea-sack-thomas-tuchel-as-manager-after-defeat-at-zagreb-champions-league) seven games into the season, with more than £250m spent on players and a couple of whispered wobbles behind the scenes. But it seems Graham Potter just might, if Chelsea really do feel like taking a punt on talent, brains and method over having actually spent a single minute of your professional career at the level the club hope to operate at.

Following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea have zeroed in on Brighton manager Graham Potter, who is said to be 'keen'.

Potter himself is said to be 'keen' on the potential move. Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter were immediately sounded out as two candidates, though it now appears Potter is the preferred option. [Ben Jacobs](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen?s=20&t=hpibxcyrzspLBR6kJKB1yA) detailed the current happenings surrounding Chelsea's managerial search on Wednesday. He has angled for a step up in the past and it seems he is set to get his wish, as he is Chelsea's top target. Things are said to be moving 'very fast' with Potter and his current club Brighton are not going to stand in his way, though his release clause will have to be met by Chelsea before he can depart for West London. According to him, the [Blues are hoping](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen/status/1567541801841577985?s=20&t=hpibxcyrzspLBR6kJKB1yA) to have their next manager in before this weekend, which is the reason their search has been so expedited.

Following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea reportedly have a verbal agreement in place with current Brighton boss Graham Potter.

[Ben Jacobs](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen?s=20&t=hpibxcyrzspLBR6kJKB1yA), the managerial search is already very advanced. Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter were identified as the two favorites and it appears the Englishman has the edge. Wednesday was a whirlwind day for Chelsea Football Club and one that has the potential to be the catalyst for the new ownership of Todd Boehly. Jacobs claimed on Wednesday that a [verbal agreement](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen/status/1567587132419575812?s=20&t=hpibxcyrzspLBR6kJKB1yA) between the Brighton boss and Chelsea hierarchy has already been reached. The formal paperwork to both free Potter of his contract with the Seagulls as well as to tie him down with Chelsea is expected to be filed in the coming days. [marching orders](https://www.si.com/soccer/chelsea/news/breaking-thomas-tuchel-has-been-sacked-by-chelsea) the following day.

Thomas Tuchel was sacked as Chelsea manager on Wednesday morning following three losses in seven games this season.

Overall, this simulation predicts that if Potter was to be appointed the new Chelsea manager, he could potentially bring a trophy to Stamford Bridge and a top-four finish in his first season at the club, despite the club's poor start under Tuchel. The Blues added to their top four finish with a trophy, with Potter going one step further in the Carabao Cup than Tuchel could last season. Chelsea finished third in the Premier League under Potter in our simulation, behind only Liverpool and champions Manchester City. With Tuchel often deploying a similar system, it's clear to see why Potter is a target for the Blues. For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 22 to allow Potter to move from Brighton to Chelsea. The search for his successor now begins, and Todd Boehly has been given permission by Brighton to [speak with manager Potter over the vacant role](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/news/graham-potter-todd-boehly-chelsea-24953536).

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was surprised by Chelsea's decision to sack Thomas Tuchel after their poor start to the season but said that is the reality ...

"That is how they always saw it. "Obviously there are different kinds of owners. We have a profession that at some stage, this (can) happen.