- EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Leicester City are looking at former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter but a man earmarked to succeed Enzo Maresca at the Premier League newcomers remains keen on the now-vacant Borussia Dortmund post.
With the Championship champions on the lookout for a new head coach, Leicester’s hopes of luring Graham Potter to the King Power Stadium suffered an untimely blow on Thursday.
HITC understands that Leicester City are big admirers of a man who worked his way up to Chelsea after terrific spells at Swansea City and Brighton and Hove Albion. Potter, however, is weighing up his options, having turned down a number of suitors already.
We reported back in March that the 49-year-old was an option to take over at Borussia Dortmund if Edin Terzic was to depart.
Three months on, Terzic has indeed said his goodbyes, asking the German giants to terminate his contract just a fortnight after suffering Champions League final heartbreak to Real Madrid at Wembley.
Leicester City face Dortmund battle for Graham Potter
“Dear Borussia fans, even though it hurts me terribly right now, I would like to tell you that I will be leaving BVB today,” Terzic – a bonafide Dortmund fanatic who has spent nearly a decade at the club – tells the official website.
“It was a huge honour to be able to lead this great club to a DFB Cup victory and most recently to a Champions League final. I asked those responsible for a meeting after our final at Wembley because, after nine years at BVB, including six years on the coaching team and two-and-a-half years as head coach, I feel that the upcoming new season should be accompanied by a new man on the sidelines.
“Even after intensive discussions, my basic feeling has not changed. I wish Borussia Dortmund only the very best and say thank you and goodbye.”
HITC were told in March that Dortmund, alongside Potter, admired Arne Slot and Franck Haise. Slot is now at Liverpool, however, while Haise has left RC Lens for OGC Nice.
Potter, therefore, is the only one of that trio still out of work. And Terzic’s sudden departure will not exactly please a Leicester side who remain hot on the former Stoke and Birmingham defender’s heels, even if former Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin is currently the favoruite to take over.
Sahin, a Bundesliga winner under Jurgen Klopp over a decade ago, is currently the assistant coach at Signal Iduna Park.
Former Chelsea boss waiting for the right opportunity
HITC have been told that, alongside Potter, Carlos Corberan is another with admirers at The Foxes. The 2016 Premier League champions are big fans of the way the former Leeds United assistant has turned West Brom into one of the most well-drilled and tactically-versatile sides in the Championship.
Corberan took The Baggies into the play-offs last term, losing out to eventual winners Southampton in the semi-finals.
Potter, meanwhile, has been out of work since that ill-fated spell at Chelsea ended over a year ago. He remains very highly regarded in footballing circles, however, with many accepting that a basket case Chelsea side was far from the ideal environment for a man who had worked under such a settled structure at Brighton.
“I would say to (Stamford Bridge owner) Todd Boehly, give him time,” none other than Pep Guardiola said three months before Potter was sacked in 2023 (talkSPORT).
“What he’s done at Brighton is outstanding.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
