It might not come as surprise that Chelsea are already looking to replace their manager Graham Potter, after just three-and-a-half-months in charge. The ever impatient behaviour at the club seems have gone nowhere despite a change in the ownership. Moreover, Chelsea made Potter a record-signing of a manager after they paid his £19m release clause at Brighton to acquire his services.
However, their investment in the ‘rookie’ manager is turning out to be not worth it given their current form, where the club has won just three of its last 13 games in all competitions. But Chelsea are once again lining up another rookie manager, in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Oliver Glasner according to German outlet BILD. Although it was anticipated that the Chelsea owners may have drawn up a list of potential candidates to replace Potter, Glasner’s name is surprise inclusion.
Chelsea plotting a similar move for Glasner as Potter
Chelsea fired Thomas Tuchel after a poor start to the season, a reason however disputed by many reports. According to the inside reports, the German didn’t share a healthy relationship with the new American owners, as he enjoyed with the previous regime of Roman Abramovich. As a result, it ultimately got his sacked and saw Potter being appointed in his place.
First and foremost, it was a brave call from the Blues to bring in Potter, a cult manager who had made it big with Brighton. Furthermore, Chelsea trusted him with a long term contract which runs until the end of the 26/27 season. His release clause too was a hefty one, as the West Londoners had to shell out a massive £19m to take him away from Brighton. The club then explained that their long term association with Potter was to build a project at the club for the present as well as future.
Their signings amplified their comments as Chelsea brought in a mix of already established star players and half-a-dozen raw talents from across the globe. It is understood that Potter is a master of striking the right chord with young talents, as evident from his spell at Brighton. However, his long term project could be wrapped up in a short time even before it goes-off in full swing.
The Blues are tracking Frankfurt’s Glasner, who has had an impressive 18 month spell at the club since being appointed in the summer of 2021. Glasner has already worked his magic at the club, steering them to Europa League triumph in his debut season, the club’s first European trophy in 42 years. However, what was more remarkable that Frankfurt knocked out the likes of Barcelona, Real Betis and West Ham United during the knockouts, to lift the trophy against Rangers in the final.
Since taking over the charge of the Bundesliga side, Glasner has managed them for 72 games so far in all competitions, collecting an impressive 31 wins and scoring 116 goals in the process. Despite a brilliant start to the 21/22 Bundesliga season, a poor second-half of it saw Frankfurt finish in the 11th, whereas they could have easily achieved a place in the top-half.
BILD further adds that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is the one keen on Glasner, and is keeping a tab of his developments with Frankfurt. This season as well, the Eagles are enjoying a brilliant league campaign as they sit fourth in the table, seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich and three behind second-placed Freiburg. On the other hand, Chelsea are struggling at 10th in the Premier League, and any worse than the current results would see the end of Potter at the club, with Glasner potentially replacing the former Brighton manager at Stamford Bridge.