Potter fired by Chelsea after less than 7 months in charge

Graham Potter has been relieved of his duties as Chelsea manager less than seven months into his five-year contract, the struggling Premier League club announced Sunday.

The decision to part with the English coach, who joined the Blues from Brighton & Hove Albion in September to replace the fired Thomas Tuchel, comes a day after Chelsea dropped down to 11th place with a 2-0 loss at home against Aston Villa.

Bruno Saltor has been named interim head coach.

Former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is understood to be the favorite to succeed Potter at Stamford Bridge, according to transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio. The 35-year-old, however, reportedly prefers to wait until the summer before making a decision.

A statement from co-controlling Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali read: "On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea. We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.

"Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high."

Potter's dismissal is likely to come as a surprise to many considering the large investment in the 47-year-old that Chelsea made after reportedly paying a £20-million clause to sign him from Brighton.

It was also widely believed that Potter would get a chance to close the gap on the top four, but Chelsea's latest defeat leaves the club 12 points back of the last Champions League spot with 10 games to play.

After winning five of their opening six games under his charge, Chelsea slumped and their offense became stagnant despite the club's significant investment in new players. The club has reportedly spent over £600 million since last summer.

Potter's Chelsea career ends with just seven wins from 22 league games.