Brighton grant Chelsea permission to speak to Graham Potter to replace Thomas Tuchel as buy-out clause revealed

Brighton have given Chelsea permission to speak with Graham Potter over the head coach vacancy after Thomas Tuchel was sacked.

Tuchel was dismissed by the club’s new owners following his 100th game in charge which ended in a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening in the Champions League. 

The club confirmed his exit on Wednesday morning after making a decision overnight which saw the 48-year-old informed in a face-to-face meeting.  

A club statement: “Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Thomas Tuchel.

“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club.

"Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here. 

“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition. 

“Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach. 

“There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made.”

The front-runner for the job to succeed Tuchel was Potter and now as per various sources, Chelsea’s request to Brighton to ask for permission to speak with the 47-year-old has been accepted. 

Sky Sports report that Todd Boehly is expected to meet with the Seagulls's head coach this afternoon. 

Potter has around a £10 million buy-out clause in his contract at Brighton, according to Matt Law, and Chelsea are claimed to have no issues with paying that amount to land him.

Brighton and Chelsea have struck up a good relationship over the summer following deals involving Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Billy Gilmour. 

Paul Barber, Brighton’s CEO, previously told talkSPORT on Boehly: "Todd was very respectful, tough, this wasn't an easy negotiation (Cucurella deal). It went on over quite a period of time.

"I didn't get any impression that this (Marc Cucurella deal) was something they'd do at any cost, it was something they were prepared to do. Todd negotiated very hard.

"Todd’s a very successful individual who has clearly done very well in other businesses, through lots of negotiation.

"Although this is a new area for him, dealing with football players in the Premier League, he was very tough and he did not make it easy for us to get a deal done, and I respect him for that."