Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Graham Potter as the club's new Head coach on a bumper five-year deal.
The Blues prioritised a move for Potter after taking the decision to sack Thomas Tuchel after just three wins in their opening seven fixtures this season. Brighton gave the English manager permission to travel to London and hold talks with Todd Boehly over the vacant position at Stamford Bridge, football.london understands.
Potter arrived at Cobham training ground today to finalise paperwork and legal documents before his announcement on Thursday afternoon. Chelsea signed Marc Cucurella from the Seagulls in a £55million deal during the summer transfer window and now Potter needs to decide if the Spaniard will start ahead of Ben Chilwell in his team.
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Having previously worked under Potter at Brighton, it could see Cucurella become the Blues' no.1 left-back despite Chilwell's impressive form since returning from injury this season. The Spaniard already understands Potter's tactics and would take no time in adjusting to his play style at Stamford Bridge.
After Chelsea secured a deal to sign Cucurella from the Seagulls, Potter commented on the Spaniard's ability and admitted he didn't want to sell the 24-year-old. Potter said: "We [Brighton] didn't want to sell him and we didn't need to sell him. At the same time, you understand that if a Champions League club comes with Champions League resources and finance and the player indicates there's a desire to do it then it's very difficult for us.
"It's another situation where everybody's won in terms of the player's got a great opportunity, the selling club have got a good fee and the buying club have got a good player, so win, win, win all around. Marc was a fantastic player for us, great guy, I like him a lot so I wish him well and we move forward as a group."
Potter will now have access to Chelsea's resources and financial power as he looks to turn the Blues' fortunes around heading into a busy period of fixtures. Chilwell has impressed when he has played so far this season, but Potter may look to trust in Cucurella after already working with the player during his time on the south coast.
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