How much would Chelsea have to pay Brighton to hire Graham Potter?

Manchester United vs Brighton l Brighton Manager Graham Potter during the pre-season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and RCD Espanyol at The Amex Stadium on July 30, 2022 in Brighton, England.ive stream |
Brighton Manager Graham Potter during the pre-season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and RCD Espanyol at The Amex Stadium on July 30, 2022 in Brighton (Image credit: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Graham Potter is the clear favourite to become the next Chelsea manager, after the Blues sacked Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday morning.

While names such as Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino have also been mentioned in the discussions around the next Chelsea manager, reports suggest that Chelsea have already made an approach for the Brighton boss, and Potter will travel to London shortly to discuss the possibility.

However, hiring Potter won't come cheap. The 47-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Seagulls and a steep release fee clause, that has been large enough  to put off the likes of Tottenham more than once.

How big is Graham Potter's release clause at Brighton?

There are currently two fees doing the rounds concerning Graham Potter's buy-out clause.

Journalist Guillem Balague earlier reported that the fee is £16m – a figure that tracks with what was reported when Tottenham were interested in Potter last summer.

But that's not the only figure.

See more

In the Telegraph (£), Matt Law reports that the release clause is in fact in the region of £10m – a much cheaper proposition.

Either way, Chelsea have confirmed that they are willing to pay the fee. This will come as a big statement of faith in Potter, given other managers such as Pochettino and Zidane are without clubs and would not cost a fee to hire.

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Conor Pope
Online Editor

Conor Pope is the former Online Editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing all digital content. He plays football regularly, and has a large, discerning and ever-growing collection of football shirts from around the world.


He supports Blackburn Rovers and holds a season ticket with south London non-league side Dulwich Hamlet. His main football passions include Tugay, the San Siro and only using a winter ball when it snows.