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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Who is Bruno Saltor? New Chelsea interim head coach prepares for debut after replacing Graham Potter

Bruno Saltor is the new Chelsea interim head coach following the departure of Graham Potter.

Potter was sacked after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa and Bruno will take charge of the team for tonight’s Premier League game at home to Liverpool.

Bruno joined Chelsea when he moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton along with Potter last September.

The Spaniard is a Brighton legend, having made 235 appearances during a decade at the south coast club.

He joined Brighton from Valencia in 2012, played a major role in their promotion to the Premier League in 2017 and captained them for years before his retirement in 2019.

After his hanging up his boots after a near 18-year senior football career, Bruno became part of the Brighton coaching staff.

He joined Chelsea to become part of Potter’s backroom team and has been kept on to lead the team while the club search for a new manager.

After Chelsea host Liverpool in the Premier League on Tuesday, they face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 12.

When facing the media for the first time on Monday, he said: “Obviously I didn't sleep a lot because it's a new situation, trying to think. There's a lot of things to consider.

(Getty Images)

“I'm going to focus on today, tomorrow but I have an amazing relationship and pure admiration for Graham. We will assess later. My ambition is to improve every day and try to show who I am and be myself. That is what I'm going to try to do in the next few days.

“Obviously it's been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, for the staff, for the families and now we just have to deal with the situation.

“It is a sad day. A sad day for staff because Graham and Billy leaving, two top coaches, top people, top human beings. How I see it is I have to be the most professional I can, try to help the players, guide the players to prepare for the game the best we can.”

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