Chelsea could turn to Graham Potter to replace Thomas Tuchel

Brighton boss Graham Potter is the early favourite to take charge at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea sacked Thomas Tuchel.

Chelsea’s new owners sacked Tuchel on Wednesday morning, just hours after the Blues’ chastening 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.

Owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were understood to have already made the decision to unseat Tuchel ahead of that loss in Croatia, however.

Chelsea’s new chiefs have been at the Stamford Bridge helm for 100 days since their £4.25billion purchase from Roman Abramovich.

The ambitious US owners are understood to have felt they could not wait any longer to take action, fearing the Blues losing further ground on Premier League powers Manchester City and Liverpool.

Chelsea’s new board is thought to have analysed Tuchel’s 100 games as Blues boss, identifying a worrying trend of 24 goals conceded in the first 50 matches and 53 in the second 50.

The Chelsea owners are understood not to have lined up a replacement, in order to complete the process by the book.

Boehly and Eghbali will now approach and interview a small number of candidates, with Brighton’s Potter chief among a tight group of names.

Former Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Real Madrid chief Zinedine Zidane are also thought to be in consideration.