Chelsea have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Brighton’s Graham Potter is favourite to replace the German as manager at Stamford Bridge.

Potter has done a great job with Brighton in recent seasons, taking a club that was predicted to be relegated to 15th, 16th and 9th place in three seasons at the Falmer Stadium.

As a tactically versatile coach, he also helped mould Marco Cucurella into the left-back who last summer earned a £62m/€72m move to Chelsea.

What will the 47-year-old bring to the Blues when he faces the Spaniard again at Stamford Bridge?

Take a closer look in this article…

Which formation does Potter prefer to play in?

One of Potter’s defining characteristics is that he is not tied to any formation or tactical system – he prefers to let the players at his disposal dictate everything else.

Last season in the Premier League, he used the four 17 times and the three 21 times, oscillating almost equally between a lone striker and a partner attack.

Stylistically, this is a strategy not too dissimilar to Carlo Ancelotti’s at Real Madrid. The Italian tactician won the Champions League last season with Real Madrid using a 4-3-3 system, and in 2007 with AC Milan with a 4-4-1-1 system.

How good is Potter?

A lot, is the quick answer. Potter, who was a left-back during his playing career, although he played briefly for Southampton in the Premier League, cut his coaching teeth in Sweden with Östersund, whom he led to three straight promotions.

After taking them to the knockout stages of the Europa League in 2018, he was appointed by Swansea. A tenth-place finish in the Championship and a place in the 2019 FA Cup quarter-finals – where they led 2-0 against Manchester City before losing 3-2 – caught Brighton’s attention in 2019.

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“If you look at what Graham Potter has done, the training sessions are great, no matter how big the egos are,” former Scotland striker Kris Boyd told Sky Sports.

“As long as you can connect with your manager and see that there is progress in the team, egos don’t matter because you will have a group that will follow the manager because he is so talented and has proven results.”

Which clubs were interested in Potter?

Manchester United were looking at Potter before appointing Erik ten Hag as Ralf Rangnick’s successor in May, apparently shying away from the Englishman’s lack of Champions League experience.

Todd Boehly, perhaps the most tactically astute young English manager in the league, hasn’t stopped there and Potter could get his chance at the top of the Europa League with the Blues against Red Bull Salzburg next Wednesday.

When does Potter’s contract expire?

Potter signed a contract extension with Brighton earlier this year, meaning his contract with the Seagulls runs until 2025. Chelsea will have to pay £3m to buy him out.

How old is Potter?

Potter was born on 20 May 1975 and is 47 years old at the time of writing. He shares a birth date with former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.