Brighton give Graham Potter permission to speak to Chelsea
How is your Wednesday going? In the space of a few hours, Chelsea have sacked Thomas Tuchel, asked Brighton for permission to speak to Graham Potter and now Potter is seemingly set to hold talks with the Blues.
That Tony Bloom has allowed Potter to enter into negotiations with Chelsea suggests they are ready to meet the compensation clause in his Albion contract.
£16 million is believed to be the figure inserted when Potter signed his most recent deal, that six-year contract awarded in November 2019 when he was less than six months into the Albion job after jumping ship from Swansea City.
The clause was big enough to put Tottenham off on the two occasions when the Spurs vacancy has come up and Potter was heavily linked.
Chelsea though have spent big on players under their new owners and are seemingly ready to pay a relatively modest amount in the grand scheme of things to secure a new manager.
Potter talking to Chelsea is no guarantee that he will abandon the Albion for West London. Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named spoke to Reading in March 2013 about taking over the Madjeski Stadium before deciding to remain at the Amex. Poyet You Know Who was then sacked by Bloom two months later.
For Potter to take time out of his schedule with Brighton 48 hours away from an important Premier League fixture away at Plucky Little Bournemouth shows he is seriously considering the offer, however.
How wise a move to Stamford Bridge would be for his career prospects is up for debate. Chelsea rattle through managers quicker than Katie Price does husbands.
Unless Potter hits the ground running and delivers instant success for the Blues, he could be out of a job with his current sky-high reputation dented within 12 months.
There is no way he would be allowed to oversee six consecutive defeats as Chelsea manager. Or three months without a home goal. Or three months without a win. Or a club-record 14 game winless home streak.
Potter survived all of those barren spells at Brighton without so much as a peep about his future. There is no more supportive owner in the Premier League than Bloom.
If Potter values stability and the idea of a long-term project, he would be better off waiting at the Albion until a more suitable big job comes along at a club who would give him time to implement his ideas.
Money though talks. And Chelsea have a lot of that. So too the chance to compete for trophies. For a bloke from Solihul with no real affiliation to Brighton, the chance to compete for Premier League and Champions League titles is always going to be a bigger pull than trying to finish sixth with the Albion.
Nobody knows how this one will play out. The good news is that it is moving quickly. A prolonged pursuit of Potter from Chelsea would cause uncertainty at the Amex, leaving a cloud over the club.
We should at least know where we stand within the next 12 to 48 hours. The ball is in Potter’s court now. For the sake of the progress being made at the Albion, let us hope he turns down Chelsea.
And if he doesn’t… has anyone got Mark McGhee’s phone number?
