Breaking: Graham Potter sacked as Chelsea head coach

Chelsea have sacked head coach Graham Potter.

The club moved to end Potter’s reign after just seven months following a 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The 47-year-old has overseen just four wins this calendar year and leaves Chelsea 11th in the Premier League table — 12 points off the Champions League places.

In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea FC has announced that Graham Potter has departed the club. Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition.

“In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter-final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid.

“Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future.”

The club have confirmed Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team as interim head coach.

Potter signed a five-year deal to replace Thomas Tuchel in September, with Chelsea paying a buyout clause of £20million to lure him from Brighton.

But he won just seven of his 22 games in all competitions, with a January transfer window outlay of close to £300m failing to prompt a consistent upturn.

Potter, whom co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said fit the club’s “vision” with his “innovation,” won five of his opening six fixtures in all competitions, but Chelsea slumped either side of the World Cup, notably suffering heavy losses to Brighton and Manchester City, as well as a home defeat to relegation-threatened Southampton.

The club rallied from a first-leg deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, but despite adding January reinforcements including Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix, they have continued to stutter in the Premier League.

Potter had previously insisted he was “not the problem” and suggested he had “probably the toughest job in football” attempting to overhaul a club in transition following the Boehly-Clearlake takeover last May.

He had also claimed that some players had pointed to a challenging pre-season before his arrival, but after a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham, he said he took “full responsibility” for continued poor form.

He took the blame again after a Villa defeat that was met with boos, and said he understood supporters’ “pain”.