New Chelsea boss Graham Potter was praised at Brighton for being an innovative coach. During his time in Sussex, Potter devised tactical masterplans to get the better of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte in one-off games.
Potter is tactically flexible and often thought outside the box when it came to tactics at Brighton. That has been evident so far this season, with the 47-year-old often playing attacking midfielder Leandro Trossard at left wing-back, and No.10 Alexis Mac Allister in a double pivot in midfield.
He also tried towering defender Dan Burn in an unfamiliar position on a number of occasions. The 30-year-old was a favourite with Potter at Brighton, racking up 81 appearances under him. The now Newcastle defender had only ever played in the middle of a back four until Potter used him in a variety of roles.
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"My position was centre-back when he came, and if you told us that I'd be playing wing-back away at Anfield then I don't know what I would have done," Burn told BBC's Football Daily.
"I still think that my best position is centre-back, but the majority of games I played for Brighton were in the left of the three. As long as I was playing, I wasn't too fussed, but he gives you the confidence that you can play wherever he expects you to play.
"What I would say about Potter is that I never went onto the pitch not knowing my job. I knew who I was marking, where I had to run, who I was passing to when I had the ball - it was all very methodical. Every player knew exactly what to do wherever they were on the pitch."
Potter's time at Brighton highlights that he isn't afraid of experimenting, and that he trusts his players to operate in positions that they have never played before. Given Trossard's recent transformation from winger to wing-back, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Christian Pulisic tried in that position. Mason Mount could also drop into a deeper midfield position given Mac Allister's shift from an attacking midfielder to a No.6.
Whether it's just as a one-off or a long-term position change, Potter is likely to have some interesting ideas regarding the roles his new set of players carry out.
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