Brighton boss Graham Potter is Chelsea’s top target to replace Thomas Tuchel after sacking – but Todd Boehly warned about experience

Brighton boss Graham Potter is Chelsea’s top target to replace Thomas Tuchel as manager, talkSPORT understands.

Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday morning after a breakdown in his relationship with new owner Todd Boehly.

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Tuchel delivered a Champions League for Chelsea, but was axed by the new regime

The decision to axe the German was made before their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

Boehly backed Tuchel with more than £270million in transfers this summer – including the signing of former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on deadline day.

However, Chelsea had made an underwhelming start to the 2022/23 season.

Now Potter is at the top of the list to replace him, with Chelsea understood to have approached Brighton for permission to hold talks.

Potter, 47, has received plenty of plaudits for the job he has done with the Seagulls, as they currently sit fourth in the Premier League with wins over Manchester United and a 5-2 drubbing of Leicester this season.

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Potter is Chelsea’s top target to replace Tuchel

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Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was full of praise for Potter as he reacted to Tuchel’s sacking.

He told talkSPORT: “I love watching Brighton play and I could eulogise about Potter all day, and he probably will go on to bigger and better things, but it was only last season when Brighton went on a bad run and couldn’t win at home, and there was one particular game where fans were booing. Things in football change very quickly.

“I wouldn’t be disappointed if I was a Chelsea fan if Potter came in the door.

“But you’d think [Mauricio] Pochettino would be ahead of him. Neither of them have silverware behind them, but Poch at least has experience of being in charge of Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, working with big-name players, egos, superstars – Potter has not done that.”

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Boehly’s decision to sack Tuchel is the biggest call of his reign so far

There will of course be other managerial targets for Chelsea with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino also mooted as a possible option.

Simon Jordan, however, does not feel the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss is the right man for the job.

Jordan said: “They’ve obviously got someone lined up. Who they put in will tell you how they view what they’re doing next, and that will be the fascinating thing, for me.

“God forbid I hope it’s not Pochettino, but it may well be. I don’t think Pochettino would be the answer, either, but he’ll probably be right in the mix of it.”

Murphy added: “Pochettino has not really got the CV what they would be looking for in terms of trophies won.

“Graham Potter hasn’t got the trophies won either, but he’s got great stock because of what he’s achieved at Brighton and the way he conducts himself, the improvement of players under him and his tactical awareness.”