Chelsea players were reportedly left confused by the dismissal of former head coach Graham Potter. They only found out on Sunday, 2nd of April, 2023, when the news had gone viral.
Graham Potter was dismissed less than seven months after he departed Brighton & Hove Albion to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
Potter’s last defeat at Chelsea was the recent 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday, 1st of April, 2023, although tension has been growing on the 47-year-old who fought to win the club’s supporters’ hearts after taking charge of the biggest club of his career so far.
However, many of the players had no idea their manager would be gone before the weekend runs out.
According to reports, Chelsea players were stunned, worried and immediately reached out to their agents after discovering the news when the official statement was released at 8 PM on Sunday.
The 47-year-old English manager won just 12 of his 31 games in charge at Stamford Bridge, losing 11 matches. Under the former Brighton coach, Chelsea were knocked out of both domestic cups and are in the bottom half of the English Premier League standing.
Although Graham Potter’s job has always been at risk with the results being so bad, Chelsea players still expected him to be in the dugout for the Blues’ crucial home match against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on Tuesday, 4th of April, 2023.
However, some Chelsea fans spotted how the Blues players reacted to the news.
Denis Zakaria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reacted by liking the official statement released by the club’s board confirming the dismissal of Graham Potter.
Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly spent over 600 million pounds on players acquisition since taking charge of the West London club.
He has now sacked the second manager of his first season. Thomas Tuchel was the first to be shown the exit just weeks into the 2022/2023 campaign and they appointed Potter who made things from bad to worse for the Blues.
According to insiders, the decision was made overnight with Potter informed of the judgment at around 3 pm on Sunday.
On the other hand, the West London side have announced that Graham Potter’s assistant Bruno Saltor will be taking charge of the team as interim coach, while ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann is being preliminary named as the frontrunner for the job.
The German coach was recently dismissed by the German powerhouse Bayern Munich and replaced immediately by Thomas Tuchel who was sacked by Chelsea in September 2022.
Other reports suggest that Nagelsmann is not in a haste to move to London, at least not straight away.
In addition, Nagelsmann will take his time before mapping out his next move after Tottenham Hotspur are also in contact with the 35-year-old German international.
What’s next for Chelsea?
The Blues will play their first match under the interim coach against Liverpool in the English Premier League on Tuesday and later travel to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, 8th of April, 2023, before they lock horns with Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final (first leg) on Wednesday, 12th of April, 2023.
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