Graham Potter says talks with Chelsea’s owners left him “excited” and “impressed” as he took the decision to leave Brighton.
The 47-year-old was appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s successor on Thursday, signing a five-year contract as the first managerial appointment of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital era.
While the decision to sack Tuchel in a face-to-face meeting at Cobham in the hours after a Champions League defeat away at Dinamo Zagreb came as a surprise to many, the German’s relationship with figures behind the scenes is understood to have strained in recent months.
After an indifferent start to the season, Potter was called upon to take charge of a team boosted by a record-breaking summer of spending at Stamford Bridge.
Potter is believed to have impressed co-chairman Boehly with his long-term vision, having rebuilt Brighton from a team battling to stay in the Premier League to one who now play some of the most eye-catching football in the division.
Speaking to the club’s in-house medial channel, Potter said: “It’s the start of a really exciting period, I think.
“New ownership, who I was really really excited with an impressed by, firstly as people and then their vision for the club and what they wanted to do.
“Of course the history of the club speaks for itself but it’s about trying to create that again in our own way.”
