Chelsea: ‘Surprise candidate’ in race to replace Potter while ex-Spurs man is ‘under consideration’

Fulham head coach Marco Silva has reportedly emerged as a ‘surprise candidate’ in the race to replace Graham Potter at Chelsea.

The Blues are searching for a new manager as

This decision was taken after Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. The London outfit are now 11th in the Premier League and 12 points adrift of the Champions League places.

Speaking after this game, Potter admitted that “have to do better”.

“The most important number is the one that goes against us (the scoreline). We have to do better,” Potter said.

“In terms of the game, you can see the players gave everything, they took on the responsibility, they tried, they had lots of entries into the box and shots and attacks.

“After a defeat, there is always a disappointment. There is always a feeling we have not moved forward, that’s fair to say. We have to analyse the performance and look at the things we’ve done well and what we can do better.

“I don’t like to blame anybody, I have to take responsibility. We are a team, we have to stay together, we are together. We win or lose together.”

It was initially expected that Potter will still be in charge when Chelsea face Liverpool on Tuesday night but Bruno Saltor has now taken over on an interim basis.

The Mirror are reporting that Silva has ’emerged as a surprise candidate’ to join Chelsea following the departure of Potter.

Silva is ‘in contention’ but former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is Chelsea’s ‘no.1 target’. This is while ex-Tottenham and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino is ‘under consideration’.

Fulham’s Silva is viewed as a potential ‘left-field appointment’ as he ‘has admirers’ at Stamford Bridge.

The 45-year-old took over at Fulham in 2021 and he helped them finish two points ahead of runners-up Bournemouth to win the Championship in 2021/22 season.

They have lost three games in a row but they are one place and a point clear of Chelsea in tenth.

Fulham conceded late on to lose 2-1 to Bournemouth over the weekend. Silva stated post-match that his team “had a lack of killer instinct”.

“It was so good how we started the game and how we controlled the first half,” Silva said.

“We had a clear plan and the players took this plan, but we just had a lack of killer instinct to score the second goal.

“The second half was completely different and difficult to understand.

“We prepared the players for what was coming and we knew that we had to start really strong in the second half and we didn’t do it.

“We have to analyse why this happens because we can’t show two faces like we did today.”