Brighton would be ‘downgrade’ for Celtic boss claims pundit - Seagulls linked to potential Potter replacement

Leaving Celtic to become the manager of Brighton & Hove Albion would be a ‘downgrade’ according to pundit Chris Sutton who won both the Premier League and Scottish Premiership as a player.

The BT Sport and BBC pundit made the claim via his Twitter account yesterday after reports emerged suggesting the Seagulls could target Ange Postecoglou for their managerial vacancy if Graham Potter completes a move to Chelsea this week.

The Australian has been in charge at Celtic Park for a little over a year but led the Hoops to the Scottish Premiership title in his first season as boss as well as the Scottish League Cup.

This week the Scottish champions decimated rivals Rangers 4-0 in the first Old Firm derby of the new season before hosting Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage - which ended with a 3-0 victory for the Spanish side.

Sutton wrote: “Ange Postecoglou will be linked with managerial jobs in the Premier League and I’m sure will eventually go down south but he’s only just got started at Celtic and he’s building something special. He certainly wouldn’t downgrade to a club Brighton’s size just yet… why would he?”

Graham Potter is still the head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion but is currently holding talks with Premier League rivals Chelsea and is the heavy favourite to replace Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Postecoglou is already 57-years old and the Celtic job is his first in European football having made his name coaching in Japan and his native Australia.

His most high profile role was as manager of the Australian men’s national side between 2013 and 2017 where he managed them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

He also ensured the Socceroos’ qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia before resigning and taking over at Yokohama F. Marinos in the J-League.

In the summer of 2021, Celtic had looked to appoint current Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe as their manager but failed to agree a deal with the Englishman and turned to Postecoglou instead - a decision which raised a few eyebrows at the time.

However, the Hoops thrived under the man known affectionately as ‘Big Ange’ and have had a stunning start to the current season which has included a 9-0 win over Dundee United.