Despite the ownership change, Premier League side Chelsea has continued to have little patience for underperforming managers. The club sacked manager Graham Potter on Sunday, bringing his time with the club to an end after just seven months.
Potter was fired after Chelsea suffered a surprising 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday. The London club is now in the bottom part of the Premier League standings, sitting at No. 11 with 38 points out of 28 matches.
Chelsea confirmed the move in a statement posted on their official website. The club confirmed that assistant Bruno Saltor will lead the club until the end of the season on an interim basis.
Graham Potter was plucked away from Brighton by Chelsea in September, taking over from Thomas Tuchel. He was supposed to be a part of the club’s long-term project envisioned by new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and was given a five-year contract. However, things didn’t work out the way all parties hoped.
Despite massive spending, which saw the arrival of several expensive players like midfielder Enzo Fernandez and winger Mykhailo Mudryk, Chelsea struggled to make an impact under the new manager. Potter lost 11 times in his 31 games in charge, although he did progress in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
“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,” said Boehly and Eghbali in a joint statement.
