Pep Guardiola and John Terry are under no illusions that Chelsea have chosen wisely after they appointed Graham Potter as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed on Thursday that the former Brighton & Hove Albion schemer would become Thomas Tuchel ’s successor at Stamford Bridge. The 47-year-old was handed a five-year contract in West London and will be hoping to have an immediate impact with Chelsea having endured an inconsistent start to the new campaign.
Whilst Potter has impressed over recent seasons with his work at Swansea City and then Brighton, there have been some doubts from supporters over whether he is the most suitable man for the job.
Despite that, Guardiola and Terry have leapt to Potter’s defence in the past and hailed his credentials as a coach. Ahead of a showdown between Brighton and Man City, the Spanish coach revealed his admiration of his opposite number, something that is surely set to continue with the two set to face off even more in the future.
Speaking in a press conference last season, Guardiola said: “Brighton are a joy to watch, a joy to analyse. At the same time, when you see them you are concerned about their quality.
“We [Man City] will need to be at the highest standards and level to compete against them. I’m absolutely a big fan of Graham Potter.
Was Graham Potter the right choice for Chelsea? Share your thoughts in the comments below
“Everyone plays in their positions, the ball comes to the positions, players move with freedom and everyone knows what they have to do. They have the courage to play everywhere.”
Elsewhere, former Chelsea defender Terry is also among those to have expressed a glowing opinion of Potter before his arrival at Stamford Bridge by suggesting that he would have been the perfect candidate to take the reins at Stamford Bridge.
Taking to Twitter, the iconic centre-back wrote: “How good is Graham Potter? I love how Brighton play and he has to be one of the best young managers around. Ticks every box for me.”
Potter’s managerial debut for Chelsea has been delayed due to the Premier League ’s decision to postpone matches this weekend as a mark of respect following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Champions League games appear initially unlikely to be impacted with the Blues set to take on Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg in midweek and all going well, Potter should be in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
It goes without saying that the Blues will be aiming to get back to winning ways having opened up their latest European venture in the worst possible way with a 1-0 reverse at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb - a match that turned out to be Thomas Tuchel’s last as Chelsea boss.
