Chelsea news: The Blues will be coached by one of Graham Potter’s assistants until a replacement is found.
Chelsea will be managed by a third new coach this season as Bruno Saltor takes over from Graham Potter. (Image: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
Chelsea will have their third manager of the season in the dugout against Liverpool on Tuesday. After Todd Boehly went a step further than even trigger happy Roman Abramovich at Stamford Bridge the club are looking for their third permanent head coach since 2021.
Before that they face Jurgen Klopp’s troubled Reds at SW6. Graham Potter won’t be in charge after he was dismissed from his post seven months after being handed a five year contract in September. The former Brighton man was axed after his side dropped into the bottom half following a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.
In his place in the temporary hot seat will be his loyal assistant and former Seagulls legend Bruno Saltor. The 42-year-old retired in 2019 on the south coast after making over 230 appearances, captaining the the current European challengers back to the Premier League.
Potter was keen to keep his expertise onboard at the Amex Stadium though and has worked with the Spaniard ever since.
In a statement written by the club late on Sunday night though it became apparent that the pair have been split up, at least for now. “Graham has agreed to collaborate with the Club to facilitate a smooth transition,” it reads. “Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team as Interim Head Coach.
“Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
Bruno will have a little under 48 hours to prepare his side for the task at hand against Liverpool, his first game as head coach in professional football.
After nearly 10 years at Brighton he cemented himself as a Premier League regular at full-back before ending his career. Though never an expansive attacking defender his consistency throughout under Chris Hughton and ex-Chelsea forward Gus Poyet gained him plaudits and popularity with the east Sussex fans.
Now plunged into taking his first steps as caretaker manager, Bruno will be joined by some of his colleagues in remaining at Stamford Bridge for the time being. BBC reporter Alex Howell writes: “Billy Reid has left Chelsea with Graham Potter. Assistant coach Bjorn Hamberg and Kyle Macaulay from the recruitment team are still at the club with Bruno Saltor.”
The long-term future for this group remains to be seen with Chelsea starting the search for their next permanent manager. Julian Nagelsmann is the early favourite for the role.
Meanwhile Bruno now looks set to lead the Blues into a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeau. Potter ensured Chelsea’s progression to this stage with a second leg comeback win over Borussia Dortmund but wasn’t afforded the chance to go any further in the competition.
It is quite the baptism of fire for Bruno but he can call upon previous experiences in Spain having spent 15 years in the leagues in the country. He started out at Espanyol before rising through the ranks there. A spell at Almeria saw him catch the attention of Valencia before Brighton snapped him up in 2012.
Bruno only scored seven senior goals in his career and was never capped by his country. He made 128 La Liga appearances before moving to England where he captured the hearts of Brighton fans.
His famous El Capitan street mural on a wall of the seaside city was long admired by those that loved him. That was swiftly removed when he left the club to join Chelsea earlier this season though.
Upon his retirement, Brighton wrote about him: “Capitán, leader, legend, and now coach. He signed for the Albion ten years ago, and few players in the club’s history can claim to have had as much of an influence as Bruno.
“El Capitán has been the subject of not one, but two prominent murals in the city, which surely proves the point. And there is probably no greater compliment to the man with the finest beard in football than the fact that he replaced another of Albion’s most popular players, Iñigo Calderón, at right back and yet nobody could object.”
Source: football.london
