Graham Potter's next club: what is next for ex-Chelsea manager
Following his mutually agreed departure from Stamford Bridge, Ninad Barbadikar analyses the options at hand for Graham Potter to return to management.
Upon unveiling Graham Potter as the Chelsea manager, it seemed like a turning point for the club.
"We look forward to supporting him, his coaching team and the squad in realising their full potential in the coming months and years," said chairman Todd Boehly welcoming Potter to the club.
That 'support' has only lasted for 29 matches, with Graham Potter departing the Blues after a dismal period as manager.
He could yet return to management soon though, with multiple clubs looking for first-team managers as well as attractive prospective opportunities available in the summer.
What went wrong for Potter at Chelsea?
Potter took over as Chelsea manager with the club sixth in the league standings, with Thomas Tuchel sacked off the back of a 1-0 defeat in their Champions League opener against Dinamo Zagreb away from home.
That loss was enough for Boehly and the Chelsea board to pull the plug on Tuchel and replace him with Potter, paying Brighton a fee of £21.5m.
After a steady run of results in the league before the World Cup, Chelsea's form crashed with a hat-trick of defeats taking them from sixth down to eighth, with a 4-1 defeat to Roberto de Zerbi's Brighton probably the worst of the lot.
Repeated injuries did not help the issue, meaning Boehly was forced to act in the January window, and boy did he act. Boehly spent over £300m to bring in the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk amongst several other additions.
The huge turnover of players in January meant that a tactics-first coach like Potter was left to deal with a lot of new signings needing to settle into his methods but having very little time to do so.
Learning on the job proved to be troublesome for the players as well as Potter with just two wins from the end of December to the start of March underlining Potter's struggles in getting the buy-in from the new signings as well as some of the old guard.
Potter and Chelsea looked like a mismatch from the very beginning and although some expected the former Brighton boss to be given time to implement his ideas, that never turned out to be the case. As we've often seen at top level clubs, there is often little patience for managers to implement their ideas in tandem with poor results on the pitch.
The Blues have looked dire at both ends of the pitch, averaging just 1.45 xGF and 1.31 xGA per game, both figures further underlining the fact that Potter failed to inspire results and performances despite brief glimpses of promise, especially in the Champions League.
Where could Potter go next?
Despite an ultimately disappointing spell at Chelsea, Potter remains an attractive prospect as a manager for other sides in the Premier League and beyond.
His work at Brighton was instrumental in transforming the side and building the foundations for current success under De Zerbi.
Given the number of clubs in a period of transition in the Premier League at the moment, Potter has a range of choices for where he could go next.
Spurs could be a good match for Potter
Tottenham have appointed Cristian Stellini as interim coach until the summer after which a more permanent appointment is likely to be made. Following Antonio Conte's departure and given the availability of Mauricio Pochettino along with another very promising option in Julian Nagelsmann, Daniel Levy has a dilemma on his hands.
The sacking of Potter may tilt the scales though and with Chelsea themselves now looking for a new coach, Nagelsmann is reportedly a favorite for the Stamford Bridge hot-seat, which leaves Potter as one to consider for Levy.
The situation that both parties find each other in makes this a very worthwhile prospect. Tottenham aren't likely to be a title challenger any time soon and with someone like Potter, given time, they could yet return to the glory days they had under Pochettino previously.
There are well-founded doubts about Potter's ability to get the buy-in from senior players and that's where the challenge will lie for him to get the likes of Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris amongst others on his side.
A move to Spurs could see him reunite with the player who he previously excelled with, Yves Bissouma and if there's anybody who knows how to get the best out of him, it's Potter.
Whereas in the past we have seen finishing issues with Potter sides with respect to expected goals (xG), the presence of Kane and Son Heung-Min helps ease fears of that repeating for him.
After a series of poor appointments following Pochettino's departure, appointing Potter may be the best thing that Levy could do for Spurs.
Leicester a risk
The Foxes are on the hunt for a new boss following Brendan Rodgers' dismissal from the role and Potter is leading the race for the job at according to Sky Bet.
They are currently 19th in the standings with one game in hand and the chances of survival are looking thin, to say the least.
This is almost certainly going to play a big part in whether Potter eventually takes the job or not. With a tough run of fixtures until the end of the season, including five games against sides in the top 10, achieving Premier League survival is easier said than done for the Foxes.
But, the quality of the squad is undoubtedly better than what they have shown so far this season. Some tweaks at the back and fine-tuning the attack will be key in getting them over the line for survival.
Potter's Brighton flirted with relegation in two of the three seasons he was at the Amex, finishing 15th and 17th in his first two seasons, but their defensive process was always impressive, which would be a plus for the Foxes.
Securing survival with this Leicester side would be a formidable achievement for Potter and would set him up nicely to implement his style and system in the summer.
It would also be a huge indicator of Leicester's ambition in the league to appoint Potter after Rodgers, and without the pressures that come with top-level clubs like Chelsea, Potter could yet thrive at the King Power.
Rebuild may appeal at Palace
Following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira, Roy Hodgson has been tasked once again with securing Crystal Palace's Premier League status. The 76-year-old has been given a deal until the end of the season to do so.
Following that, Palace may well be interested in bringing in Potter in the summer should he still be available.
The Eagles' performances this season have been a far cry from their solid displays under Vieira last season where they finished 12th playing a positive brand of football, a complete contrast to how they previously did under Hodgson.
This year, however, with just seven wins in 29 Premier League games, they have regressed hugely. Conceding 1.60 xGA per game just further evidencing the regression that has happened this year for them.
Regardless, there is still a good amount of technical quality in the side across all departments with talented youngsters like Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Tyrick Mitchell forming the young core of the side, led by captain Marc Guehi.
They do need a few signings but Potter could find the opportunity to rebuild a side from scratch enticing, much like he did at Brighton where he took over from Chris Hughton.
Potter could revitalise a stale West Ham
After back-to-back campaigns where they qualified for European competition, West Ham's performances and results this season have fallen off a cliff, currently sitting at 14th and just one point above the relegation zone.
The underlying numbers do still look somewhat good for them though, currently 10th for xGD overall in the Prmier League, averaging 1.46 xGF and 1.32 xGA per game this season.
Though league form has been shaky, performances in the UEFA Europa Conference League have been a source of joy for Hammers fans, with the club still within the possibility of a deep run in the competition, facing Belgian side Gent next in the quarter-finals.
Moyes's contract runs out in the summer of 2025 and performances this season may well force the West Ham board to reconsider his position. In that case, Potter would make for an excellent appointment for the side.
West Ham have looked stale and uninspiring in possession this season, failing to dominate games and looking out of ideas with the ball, where they previously thrived as a counter-attacking outfit.
Potter will most likely change that and improve the side in possession at the very least. They would sacrifice their direct threat for more control of the ball however, but it is clear that a stylistic change is a must at West Ham. Potter could be the one to make it happen.