10 impressive stats that show why Graham Potter got the Chelsea job

The former left-back has established a well-deserved reputation as one of the brightest minds in English football. Graham Potter honed his craft in Sweden with relative minnows Ostersunds before proving himself more than capable at Swansea and Brighton.

He's taken charge of 120 Premier League matches in charge of Brighton. Over the past three years, the Seagulls have got better and better and proven themselves one of the top flight's most watchable sides. They've taken plenty of scalps along the way and have enjoyed a blinding start to the 2022-23 season.

'We are thrilled to bring Graham to Chelsea," said president Todd Boehly in a statement on Chelsea's official website.

"He is a proven coach and an innovator in the Premier League who fits our vision for the Club. Not only is he extremely talented on the pitch, he has skills and capabilities that extend beyond the pitch which will make Chelsea a more successful Club.

"He has had a major impact at his previous Clubs and we look forward to his positive impact at Chelsea. We look forward to supporting him, his coaching team and the squad in realising their full potential in the coming months and years."

Here are 10 impressive stats that show why Graham Potter got the Chelsea job:

1. Graham Potter leaves Brighton with them sitting fourth in the table. That's despite Brighton having the lowest net spend in the Premier League this summer, having made a profit of approximately £59million. The manager now leaves for the club with the highest summer net spend of approximately £205million.

2. Brighton only have the 15th highest wagebill in the Premier League. With a total estimated salary of £30.7million. He now goes to a club with a wagebill over five times that – Chelsea boast the Premier League's second largest wagebill with a total estimated salary of £158.6million (figures via Spotrac).

3. Last season,Graham Potter led Brighton to ninth in the Premier League. That's the club's highest placing in the English football pyramid in history.

4. The underlying statistics bear that out. Last season, Potter's Seagulls registered the seventh-best expected goals difference of +0.50xG and the sixth-lowest expected goals against of 45.4xGA.

5. Graham Potter has led Brighton to back-to-back victories against Manchester United, who are likely to be one of Chelsea's main rivals for a top-four finish this season. The Seagulls beat United 4-0 at the Amex in May before a 2-1 away win at Old Trafford in Erik Ten Hag's first competitive match in charge.

6. Brentford have been one of English football's biggest success stories in recent years, but Potter maintains a 100% win record against them. He led Swansea City to three successive wins against Thomas Frank's Bees and last season his Brighton completed a league double against them.

7. While Tuchel's Chelsea suffered a bruising 3-0 defeat to Leeds United last month, the following week Potter's Brighton beat them 1-0. In fact, under Potter, the Seagulls are unbeaten in five Premier League meetings with the high-intensity Yorkshire outfit (three wins; two draws). In those five games, they've only conceded one goal.

8. As well as leading Ostersunds to three promotions up through three tiers and into the top flight, the tactician also delivered the only major trophy in the club's history, the Swedish Cup in 2017.

9. In 2022, Brighton have only picked up two fewer points in the Premier League than Chelsea. They're sixth and seventh respectively in the table for the calendar year.

10. Graham Potter has masterminded victories against sides managed by Arsene Wenger, Mikel Arteta, Marcelo Bielsa, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez.