Graham Potter says Chelsea could put Anthony Barry on gardening leave to avoid him coaching against the Blues for Bayern Munich in a possible Champions League semi-final.
The highly-rated coach wants to join Thomas Tuchel’s staff in Germany after he was appointed at Allianz Arena last month.
The coach, who joined Chelsea under Frank Lampard in 2020 but stayed on under Tuchel and now Potter, is currently not working for the club while the situation is being resolved.
Speaking amid disruption ahead of a Premier League home match with Aston Villa, Potter was asked whether the risk of Barry leaking tactics was part of the talks.
He said: “You’re asking the question and answering the question. It’s club to club, it’s not for me but I am pretty sure it is in the conversation for obvious reasons.”
“He is not with us at the moment and I think that’s best it gets resolved, there’s nothing to report at the moment it is between the two clubs. I am not involved in it.
Tuchel’s open comments about Barry have angered the top brass in west London but he again said that it is ‘his absolute wish’ to see the coach join his staff.
Potter, however, had only positive words to say about his coach who is known to be a set-piece specialist, adding: “I have huge respect for Anthony.
“He is a fantastic coach and person but these things happen in life and football. We’ve got a really, really good staff here that can fill in, fill the gap if you like, there’s not a direct replacement for anybody but the collective can solve the problem.”
