Graham Potter has previously turned down approaches from Everton, Tottenham and others. So how will he respond to Chelsea's call?
The Blues, spearheaded by Todd Boehly's decision-making, decided enough was enough with manager Thomas Tuchel with the Dinamo Zagreb defeat the last straw in the new owners' minds. It is understood that the decision to part ways with the Champions League-winning manager was not one based solely on the loss in Croatia on Tuesday night, football.london understands.
A statement from the Club reads: "Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with head coach Thomas Tuchel. "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea's history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.
"As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the Club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition. Chelsea's coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach.
READ MORE: Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter - Todd Boehly's 5 Chelsea options as Thomas Tuchel sacked
"There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made."
Reports have since surfaced since the sacking was announced, claiming that both Potter and current free agent Mauricio Pochettino are the two preferred candidates and that talks with their representatives are set to get underway.
Pochettino has experience managing a so-called big six club not only in England with Spurs but also in France with Paris-Saint Germain, whilst Potter doesn't have this, so will this jump be too much for the former Ostersunds manager?
"When you look at what Graham Potter has done, the training is good, no matter how big the egos are," former Scottish footballer Kris Boyd told Sky Sports. "That's the problem with Chelsea. The players need to drop their egos because it's not and hasn't worked for a few months.
"When you look at Graham Potter, as long as you can relate to your manager and see there is improvement in the team, egos don't matter because you'll get a group that goes with the manager because he is so talented and he is so proven with the results.
"He's got it all." On the other side of the debate, Danny Mills is unsure whether or not Potter is ready for such a big jump up and whether he is willing to leave behind all his great work with Brighton, which sees them currently in the top four.
Mills said: "If I was Graham Potter, and I know he's a very, very good manager, I'd be a little bit wary at the moment of going into that. It's very, very difficult to turn down because Chelsea is a massive football club, a huge step up in terms of where you could go, playing Champions League football. It seems to be a little bit of a snake pit at the moment with all those new players coming in, lots of different opinions, the ownership structure - we don't quite know who's top of that, who's working under who, who's in charge.
"Graham Potter is a very good coach, highly regarded. Managing Chelsea is about managing the egos and the players, not necessarily being a good coach. Graham Potter is a fantastic coach and hasn't made that step up. It's similar to when David Moyes made the step up to Manchester United, but it's an even bigger step up to go from Brighton, where at times he can go under the radar to go to Chelsea, where the expectations are huge. It's very, very difficult."
Chelsea fans- would you take a chance on Graham Potter? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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