BRIGHTON boss Graham Potter has arrived at the club’s training ground to say goodbye after verbally agreeing to take charge of Chelsea.
Following Thomas Tuchel’s shock sacking at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, the Blues held talks with Potter about the vacant position.
And is is understood that the 47-year-old has agreed to make the move to West London.
Bookmakers Betfair have already suspended betting on Potter becoming Chelsea’s new head coach.
Chelsea hope that Potter can be in the dugout on Saturday when they face rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
SunSport exclusively revealed yesterday that Chelsea wanted Potter in charge before the weekend.
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With Potter set to sign his Chelsea contract, he has been filmed entering Brighton’s training ground for the last time.
Footage shared by Sky Sports shows Potter driving into the Seagulls’ headquarters on Thursday morning.
Alongside him in his motor was assistant Billy Reid, who is expected to join him in the capital.
Potter cancelled his Brighton press conference ahead of the club’s clash against Bournemouth scheduled for later today in a sign of an imminent switch.
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Fine details of the contract with Potter and a compensation package of around £20million with Brighton will now be ironed out.
Other managers, including Zinedine Zidane, had been under consideration, but Potter was always viewed as the first choice by Chelsea.
According to The Times, Potter will put pen-to-paper on a five-year deal, where he is due at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground later in the afternoon.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has blasted Chelsea’s decision to axe Tuchel, where he insisted anyone that follows the German is a “downgrade”.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, he said: “Anybody who comes in now, you would think is a downgrade on Tuchel.
“Graham Potter has done a fantastic job and will be called by bigger clubs than Brighton. But would he take it?
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“He has a clear identity but the question is would he be able to handle the experienced players?
“Tuchel is a proper manager. He is honest and direct. He has clarity on how he wants to play and I can’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
