Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has delivered an honest verdict on Chelsea's decision to sack Graham Potter on Sunday evening. The Blues dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table following their 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa at the weekend.
Potter spent just six months in charge before being dismissed from his role as manager following huge pressure from fans due to poor performances. The former Brighton boss replaced Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September allowing De Zerbi to take charge of the Seagulls.
Julian Nagelsmann is the favourite to replace the now-departed Potter, football.london understands. Bruno Saltor has become interim manager for the time being whilst Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali search for potential replacements, with the club said to be hoping to start interviews over the vacant managerial position this week.
READ MORE: Julian Nagelsmann has already told Chelsea why he would be the perfect Graham Potter replacement
De Zerbi, who has impressed since replacing Potter at Brighton leading them to sixth place in the Premier League, has now offered his opinion on the 47-year-old's departure from Chelsea. Speaking at his pre-Bournemouth press conference, the Brighton manager said: "I am very sorry [for Potter].
"It is bad news for the coaches. I think you give too much importance to the coaches because the players are always the most important and I don't like when coaches are sacked because the responsibility is not only with them.
"The players, the club, it's not very good news. I want to say thanks to Graham Potter. I have a team with a very good attitude and mentality. It is difficult when you don't know the situation or another dressing room.
"I don't like speaking about other teams and coaches. I am sorry because when there are these situations they are sad."
De Zerbi has been linked with the Chelsea job following his success with Brighton, whilst the likes of Nagelsmann, Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino has also been rumoured to be among the candidates under consideration.
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