Colleagues appreciate Coach Potter

"I think the players are the center and they are the most important," De Zerbi said at a press conference on April 3, when asked about Chelsea's sacking of coach Graham Potter. "I don't like it when coaches are sacked. I can't talk about other teams' dressing rooms either. But the responsibility isn't just on the coaches."

Coach De Zerbi took over at Brighton after Potter went to Chelsea in September 2022. He thanked his colleagues for leaving a good team, able to compete for tickets to the European Cup next season. The Italian military leader said: "Coach Potter has built the team with great attitude and sense of responsibility."

Chelsea won only 12 of 31 games under the direction of coach Potter. The most recent was a 0-2 defeat at home against Aston Villa on April 1, leading to a drop to 11th in the Premier League. The 47-year-old strategist was sacked soon after, despite preparing to play with Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid.

According to bookmakers, Coach Potter is the leading candidate to replace Brendan Rogers at Leicester. "Foxes" are at the bottom of the scoreboard and are in danger of relegation. But some sources in the UK suggest that Coach Potter will not be in a hurry to return to work to take time off.

Besides Coach Potter, Leicester are also said to be targeting former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, along with a number of names such as Jesse Marsch, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Adi Hutter.

Chelsea are also looking for a new coach to replace Potter. Their number one candidate is Julian Nagelsmann, who has just been sacked by Bayern. Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and Luciano Spalletti are also potential candidates. Chelsea leadership will not rush to decide, but ready to wait until the summer.