Chelsea have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel. The decision comes after the Blues were beaten in their Champions League group stage opener versus Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night.
According to The Times, Todd Boehly has already lined up a replacement for the German. It's said that Anthony Barry, a highly-rated member of Chelsea's backroom staff, will 'likely take temporary charge' until a replacement is found.
The report adds that Brighton and Hove Albion boss Graham Potter has emerged as an early frontrunner for the job. But, for now, the Blues assistant coach is set to lead the club out in the west London derby versus Fulham at the weekend.
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Barry, who was appointed as part of Frank Lampard's backroom team ahead of last season, is said to be the 'brains' behind much of Chelsea's success in recent times, including the 2021 Champions League title. The 36-year-old is also believed to be responsible for transforming the Blues into one of the Premier League's leading set-piece specialists.
He has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge this year, but Tuchel did everything in his power to retain the tactician's services. According to The Times, the former Blues boss fended off interest from Cardiff City, Aberdeen and Tranmere Rovers, who were all vying for his services in a managerial capacity.
Tuchel has openly credited the former Wigan Athletic coach with being the brains behind his former side's success from set-pieces, offensively and defensively. In January, the German wrote in a pre-match Chelsea programme: "It is important for us that we have many different players performing and we have many different goalscorers this season.
"I said after the Malmo game last week that it is a good sign when Andreas starts to score - and I think our set-piece coach, Anthony Barry, can be very, very proud. It is important to be able to score in situations like this, and it is good that we have several different people who can score.
"The guys who get the chances need to take them, and when the games keep arriving, we need the goals to win them so we can progress in all the different competitions."
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