Chelsea will not have to cough up a mammoth £50m severance package to Graham Potter following the Englishman's sacking, according to a report.
The 47-year-old only took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, but his short-lived reign came to an end on Sunday evening.
On the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa - which left the Blues 11th in the Premier League table - Potter was relieved of his duties by Chelsea after just 31 games in charge.
Todd Boehly had initially committed to a long-term project with Potter by handing him a contract until 2027, putting him in line for a significant payoff if he was given the boot.
However, a prolonged set of dissatisfactory results forced the American to take radical action, and Bruno Saltor has been placed in interim charge while the Blues search for a permanent manager.
© Reuters
While Potter was due to stay at Stamford Bridge for at least another four years, The Athletic claims that Chelsea will not be made to fork out a hefty chunk of money to compensate for his sacking.
Instead, the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss will pocket a "regular" severance package from Chelsea, who paid £20m to prise him away from the Amex Stadium seven months ago.
The Englishman went unbeaten in his first nine games in charge of the Blues, but he departs with a mediocre record of 12 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats from his 31 contests at the helm.
Under Potter, Chelsea averaged just 1.27 points per game in the Premier League - the joint-worst record for Blues coaches to have taken charge of at least 20 top-flight matches alongside Glenn Hoddle.
Potter was gifted with £300m worth of talent during the January transfer window, but having failed to oversee an upturn in fortunes after another spending spree, Boehly and Behdad Eghbali pulled the trigger after several months of backing the under-fire Englishman.
© Reuters
"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," a statement from Chelsea's co-owners read.
"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."
Julian Nagelsmann is considered the early frontrunner to take over at Stamford Bridge in the wake of his sacking from Bayern Munich, while Mauricio Pochettino and Marco Silva have also been linked with the role.
Bruno's first game in the Chelsea hotseat sees the Blues host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.
