Brighton reveal Chelsea’s HUGE world record fee to sign Graham Potter…and his £per-win fee makes for bleak viewing for Blues fans
- Chelsea had to spend big to get Graham Potter out of Brighton last year
- Published accounts have now revealed exactly how much the Blues paid for him.
- It’s been a difficult start at Stamford Bridge for the former Brighton boss.
It has been revealed that Chelsea shelled out £21.5m to sign Graham Potter and key members of their coaching staff.
Potter was appointed head of the Blues on 8 September on a five-year contract, replacing Thomas Tuchel.
Potter was quickly identified as Chelsea’s clear first choice ahead of the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali impressed.
He had a £15m release clause in his Brighton contract, but published accounts covering the year to June 2023 have now revealed exactly how much the Seagulls were compensated for losing Potter and other key members of staff. .
The bills, Reported by Kieran Maguireit showed Brighton’s net spending to be minus £89m, with £21.5m as compensation for Potter and his coaching staff.
The compensation Chelsea paid Brighton for Graham Potter and his staff has been revealed
Billy Reid (left, with Potter) and Bjorn Hamberg (right) followed Potter to Chelsea.
Potter took several of his staff from Brighton to Stamford Bridge.
They include trainers Bjorn Hamberg and Billy Reid, plus deputy head of recruiting Kyle Macaulay, all trusted in Potter’s inner circle.
It hasn’t been the best start to life in west London, with Potter and his staff managing just eight Premier League wins since taking over more than six months ago.
That means he’s cost Chelsea just under £2.7m per league win so far, much to the chagrin of Blues fans.
A great degree of patience has been added to Potter from Boehly, who is keen to trust the process for the long term with so many summer signings, as part of a £600m overhaul since taking over from Roman Abramovich.
But even Boehly couldn’t hide his frustration after seeing his team concede a late equalizer in their 2-2 draw against Everton last Saturday.
After winning their last three games in all competitions, Potter’s side were looking for another win when they took the lead through Joao Felix early in the second half.
Everton then struck back through Abdoulaye Doucoure, but a Kai Havertz penalty 14 minutes from time looked to have sealed all three points for the Blues.
Potter has only managed eight league wins, but he seemed to be turning things around.
Potter seemed to be turning the corner, but Everton’s draw was another setback for the Chelsea boss
But there was late drama when Ellis Simms came off the bench to salvage a point for the Toffees with a fine finish in the 89th minute, much to Boehly’s perplexity.
Potter later admitted that his team couldn’t control the late stages of the contest and that Boehly’s assessment was even more brutal.
As the American left Stamford Bridge, a fan asked him what he thought about the match and he quickly replied: “Damn the game!”
The result leaves Chelsea in 10th place, 11 points out of the Champions League places, and in real danger of missing out on European football altogether.