Graham Potter has been sacked on Sunday and the big question that has emerged now is who should be the next Chelsea manager.

The Blues have decided to relieve Potter of his duties after less than seven months in charge following their 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday.

It has been a chaotic spell for Potter. Since replacing Thomas Tuchel, he suffered his 11th defeat in 31 games, and the club felt that it was simply not good enough.

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League – 12 points outside the top four – despite spending more than £550m on new players this season.

🚨🔵 Julian Nagelsmann is the favorite candidate to replace Graham Potter as new Chelsea head coach, as reported yesterday. #CFC

Nagelsmann was mentioned yesterday during internal discussions — Julian is considered a talented coach.

Talks are ongoing to make best decision. pic.twitter.com/Y2QmqvoBTS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 2, 2023

Graham Potter – Brutal sacking?

Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton, will now take charge of the first team as interim head coach.

In a statement, co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: “We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.” 

Potter did a terrific job at Brighton where he was allowed to build a squad with patience, time, and stability. It felt like Chelsea are looking to break the pattern from the Roman Abramovich era when they appointed Potter.

However, Bohely’s decision to sack Potter reflects that the club has got no clear plans. Jamie Carragher has argued that Potter shouldn’t have been appointed in the first place, and the club should have stuck with Tuchel instead.

Chelsea gave Potter a five-year contract and the club assured him that they will back him thick and thin, but following fans’ unrest, the decision was made in a haste.

Potter took the Blues into the Champions League quarter-final where they will face Real Madrid. The players are apparently stunned after hearing the news via the club’s official statement.

Next Chelsea manager: three-man shortlist? 

Earlier on Sunday, Leicester City sacked Brendan Rodgers; Spurs sacked Antonio Conte last week – a total of 13 managerial changes in the Premier League have taken place this season already.

Julian Nagelsmann could be in high demand. The 35-year-old manager is currently out of work for the first time in his seven-year managerial career after he was sacked by Bayern Munich.

He was thought to be one of the top contenders to replace Conte at Spurs but Gulliem Balague feels that he could be heading towards Stamford Bridge instead.

Mauricio Pochettino could be another option for the Blues. The 51-year-old who led Tottenham to the Champions League final is out of work since leaving PSG last summer.

Could Zinedine Zidane be an option for Chelsea? In five seasons at Real Madrid across two different spells, the France legend won three Champions Leagues and two Spanish titles, and yet somehow, he is not being eyed as the first-choice candidate at top clubs.

Conte won the Premier League title at Chelsea and he is out of work as well. He won league titles with Juventus and Inter Milan, but probably he will take a short break from management before joining another big club.

Chelsea have no shortage of money and they can attract other top names, including Luis Enrique, Roberto de Zerbi, Diego Simeone, Thomas Frank, and Brendan Rodgers.

In other news, Chris Sutton predicts the outcome of Everton vs Tottenham.