Brighton chairman finally makes his feelings clear on Graham Potter after exit to Chelsea

Brighton and Hove Albion had been planning for Graham Potter’s exit but the timing of his departure to Chelsea last September caught the club by surprise.

Potter impressed during his time at the Seagulls and progressed the team from regular relegation battlers into a unit capable of top half finishes. In his last full season at Brighton, the former Swansea boss guided them to a record ninth placed in the Premier League and when he left last September, Albion were fourth in the table following a fine start to the current season.

He implemented a new attacking playing style and also introduced many talented youngsters to the first team such as Rob Sanchez, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Jeremy Sarmiento, Jakub Moder and Tariq Lamptey.

Potter’s work was getting noticed and he was often linked with the likes of Tottenham, Everton and even Manchester United and Bayern Munich. England was also a possibility but it was the riches and the opportunity at Chelsea that eventually lured him away. His final match in charge of the Seagulls was an excellent 5-2 win against Leicester City on September 4.

The money and the challenge at Stamford Bridge was too good to refuse and Brighton allowed him – and a number of the coaching staff – to leave having received a healthy £20m-plus in compensation from the Blues.

Roberto De Zerbi was appointed to succeed Potter and the Italian has built on Potter’s fine work at the Amex and also introduced his own attacking style. De Zerbi has proved a popular appointment with the fans and some feel he has been an upgrade on Potter, who has since had a rocky start to his time at Chelsea – including a hefty 4-1 loss to Brighton at the Amex last October where he took plenty of stick from the Albion supporters.

Chairman Tony Bloom however made a point of thanking Potter for his work on the south coast in his end of financial year statement.“On the pitch we enjoyed our club’s highest top-flight finish in 121 seasons, as Graham Potter led the team to an excellent ninth-place in the Premier League,” Bloom wrote.

“The season’s run-in was particularly impressive as the team picked up eye-catching results at Arsenal and Spurs, before an emphatic home victory over Manchester United.“The Board and I are extremely appreciative of the role Graham and his staff played in helping us further evolve in the Premier League and make significant steps towards our long-term vision of establishing the men’s first team as regular top-ten finishers.

"I take this opportunity to place on record our thanks to Graham, and other key staff who departed to Chelsea, for the excellent job they undertook here.”