What next for sacked managers Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers?
Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers are searching for new roles after leaving Chelsea and Leicester respectively.
Potter was sacked by the Blues on Sunday following only seven wins from 22 Premier League games, while Rodgers departed the relegation-threatened Foxes earlier that day.
Here, Football Mad considers what could be next for the pair.
Graham Potter
Leicester
Potter has already emerged among the frontrunners for a vacancy which only came about hours before he was made unemployed. Leicester, who are under the caretaker management of first-team coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell, won the FA Cup two years ago and were in Europe last season but now face a major fight to remain in the division. While Potter may wish to take a bit of time off, the Foxes would prove a tempting proposition.
Crystal Palace
The 47-year-old upset a lot of Brighton fans when he swapped the south coast for Stamford Bridge in September, particularly as most of his backroom staff followed. His standing among almost all Seagulls supporters would plummet were he to take charge of their bitter rivals. Palace have Roy Hodgson back in charge until the end of the season but will look to make a longer-term appointment in the summer.
Tottenham
Potter was linked with Spurs more than once during his Brighton days. He will surely once again be under consideration by the north London club, who last week parted company with Antonio Conte, albeit his capacity to lead a so-called top-six club is now under question. While Tottenham’s smaller squad and propensity to be less active than Chelsea in the transfer market would suit Potter’s coaching methods, he is far from favourite for the job.
Brendan Rodgers
Tottenham
Having left Leicester in the relegation zone, the bizarre nature of the managerial merry-go-round means Rodgers is now being touted as the next manager of a club chasing a top-four finish. He is Tottenham’s number one choice with many bookmakers. The 50-year-old has experience of Champions League football and managing clubs with global fanbases from his days with Liverpool and Celtic.
Chelsea
There is a curious scenario where Rodgers and Potter perform a straight job swap. The Northern Irishman has history with Chelsea having previously worked as their head youth coach and reserve-team manager. German Julian Nagelsmann, who was replaced at Bayern Munich by ex-Blues boss Thomas Tuchel, is the leading contender and it would probably require a number of candidates to turn down the role for Rodgers to return to west London.
Move abroad
An option open to both men. Potter launched his career in Sweden with Ostersunds and is not afraid to take a risk but may wish to have another crack at the Premier League while his stock remains relatively high. Aside from his time in Scotland, Rodgers has only coached professionally in England. He has previously expressed a desire to manage in Europe and already speaks some Spanish, in addition to a basic level of French.