‘I think he could go’: ESPN pundit believes Chelsea man on a five-year contract might leave in January

Add as preferred source on Google

Craig Burnley ominously thinks Graham Potter could be sacked as Chelsea manager if results after the World Cup go against him.

Speaking on ESPN, Burley suggested that Todd Boehly may make a U-turn on the five-year contract he gave Potter, depending how the team perform post the tournament in Qatar.

The Blues boss is already facing mounting pressure to keep hold of his job, just 14 matches in charge of the team.

His side have performed extremely poorly in the past three Premier League games, losing each one of them in a shambolic manner.

Defeat at Potter’s old stomping ground away to Brighton & Hove Albion began the serious inquest into his tenure.

Accepting the 1-0 derby day defeat against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge sprinkled further sourness on the situation.

Although Chelsea put up a good fight, the Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City did little to lift the mood.

Newcastle United compounded the misery further yesterday by sealing a deserved 1-0 victory up north.

This latest obstacle plunged Chelsea to eighth in the Premier League and Potter’s future into further doubt.  

Could Potter be sacked in January?

“I think if he loses the first two or three games off the back of the World Cup, I think he could go,” admitted Burley.  

“And I don’t mean I think he should go, I think he could go because I think the new consortium will panic. That’s kind of the feeling I get from him.”

Boehly has already proven that he will not stand for a poor string of results.

Thomas Tuchel faced the sack in September, following a run of three losses from five outings.

Potter will retake his place in the dugout after the World Cup with an even worse record than his predecessor.

His squad have won just twice in eight fixtures.

Whilst nobody wants to see a coach sacked so early into his reign, sometimes change is beneficial.