Chelsea have hired Graham Potter after sacking Thomas Tuchel earlier this week, so HITC Sport look back at his first XI in charge of Brighton – including Glenn Murray and Dan Burn.
Potter has agreed a five-year contract to move to Stamford Bridge as their first head coach Todd Boehly has hired. The American appointed himself as sporting director after leading a consortium in buying the west London outfit from Roman Abramovich for £2.5bn this May.
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Chelsea have paid Brighton £21m in compensation to poach Potter and his backroom staff – assistant Billy Reid alongside coaches Bjorn Hamberg and Bruno, goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts and their assistant head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay – from the south coast side.
Potter’s appointment follows Chelsea sacking Tuchel on Wednesday, after losing 1-0 away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. The German had been in charge since January 2021, but had also started the new Premier League term with three wins and two defeats.
Brighton had enjoyed a strong start to the top-flight season under Potter, with four wins to one defeat to sit fourth after six games. He now leaves the Amex Stadium after three years in charge on 43 wins and 43 draws in 134 games in all competitions, with 161 goals scored.
Potter first took charge of Brighton in a 3-0 Premier League win away to Watford in August 2019. So, with Chelsea now hiring the 47-year-old to replace Tuchel, HITC Sport look back at Potter’s first Brighton XI, and what has become of their careers in the following years…
Mat Ryan (GK): Starter of Potter’s first Brighton game now at Copenhagen
Mat Ryan started in Potter’s first game in charge of Brighton, but now plies his trade for FC Copenhagen. The 73-cap Australian left the Seagulls in 2021 after four years at the club for Real Sociedad after 123 games, yet only lasted a year in La Liga after just nine games in all.
Lewis Dunk (CB): Potter made defender his Brighton captain from first XI
Potter made Lewis Dunk the full-time captain from his first season at Brighton’s helm. The 30-year-old – who moved to the south coast side from Bristol City in 2013 and has enjoyed 380 appearances – had already had the armband periodically, and still remains the skipper.
Dan Burn (CB): Starter of Potter’s first Brighton game now at Newcastle
Dan Burn joined Brighton from Wigan a year in advance of Potter’s arrival at the Amex. He would initially establish a role under the new Chelsea boss at left-back, before becoming a more integral centre-half up to joining Newcastle this January in a last-gasp £13m transfer.
Shane Duffy (CB): Potter granted season-long loan to Fulham this August
Shane Duffy has been on the books at Brighton since 2016 when the centre-back agreed to leave Blackburn. But Potter lost patience with the 30-year-old – who has played 150 games for the Seagulls – in 2019, before a loan spell at Celtic and now joining Fulham this August.
Martin Montoya (RM): Barcelona product back in Spain with Real Betis
Martin Montoya moved to Brighton from Valencia in 2018 but would only last a year under Potter. The right-back would then return to his native Spain with Real Betis in 2020, and he remains with the Estadio Benito Villamarin natives today – under contract until June 2024.
Davy Propper (CM): Dutch midfielder retired in January after PSV return
Davy Propper called time on his playing days this January, six months after he returned to PSV Eindhoven from Brighton. The Seagulls signed the midfielder from the Dutch giants in 2017 for what was a club-record £10m, and he went on to play 121 games for nine assists.
Dale Stephens (CM): Six-year Seagulls star now a free agent after Burnley axe
Dale Stephens spent six years at Brighton, during which he started in Potter’s first XI away to Watford in August 2019. The midfielder joined the Seagulls from Charlton in 2014, and went on to play 223 times – his most with one club – before joining Burnley for two years.
Solly March (CM): Brighton product still at Amex now after 11 years so far
Solly March has now spent 11 years with Brighton, having joined the club’s academy back in 2011. Over that time, the 28-year-old has amassed 243 first-team appearances with 14 goals and 22 assists, so far. He was also an integral part of Potter’s plans whilst together.
Pascal Gross (CM): Hughton addition still at Amex now after 2017 transfer
Chris Hughton signed Pascal Gross from Ingolstadt for £3m after Brighton gained a place in the Premier League. He had impressed during the 2016/17 Bundesliga season, but they did not avoid relegation. The 31-year-old has since hit 20 goals and 31 assists over 176 games.
Jurgen Locadia (ST): Bochum sell star to Persian Gulf Pro League side Persepolis
Brighton broke their club-record spend to sign Jurgen Locadia from PSV in January 2018 for £14m. He ended Hughton’s hunt for a striker but did not fare well after Potter’s arrival, as the Dutchman was loaned to Hoffenheim within weeks of starting in his first XI at Watford.
A temporary spell with Cincinnati followed for Locadia in 2020, before the Seagulls let the 28-year-old join Bochum for free in January 2022. Yet he would only last six-months at the German outfit, and now plies his trade at Persian Gulf Pro League heavyweight Persepolis.
Glenn Murray (ST): Retired in 2021 after Hughton reunion at Nottingham Forest
Glenn Murray hung up his boots in July 2021, and now works as a pundit with BBC Radio 5 Live. The striker retired six-months after he reunited with Hughton at Nottingham Forest, as Potter let him leave Brighton that February following five years back on the south coast.
The 38-year-old returned to the Seagulls in 2016 after spells with rivals Crystal Palace, plus Reading and Bournemouth. He had previously played for the club between 2008 and 2011, whilst returning then meant he played his most games at one team with Brighton with 287.
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