Why Graham Potter’s new deal at Brighton is good news for the club

Sky Sports claims that Brighton and Hove Albion have handed Graham Potter a new six-year deal after just six months at the club.

The report confirms that Potter’s backroom staff – which includes assistant Billy Reid, the first-team coach Bjorn Hamberg and assistant head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay – have also agreed on contract extensions until 2025.

Potter started as a Technical Director in women’s football and later became the manager of Swedish side Ostersunds FK in 2011. He made a name for himself while overseeing the club for 7 years. He managed Ostersunds in 224 matches and helped them win the Swedish Cup in 2017.

Last season, he came into the frame after being appointed the manager of Swansea City. Though he had a good time in Wales, he could not get them promoted to the top-flight of English football.

Despite that, Brighton made him the manager in the summer after deciding to part ways with Chris Hughton at the end of last season. The Seagulls finished 17^th in the Premier League the last term and avoided relegation with merely 2 points.

At the moment, Brighton are 12^th in the league standings and they have improved under Graham Potter. With 4 wins and 3 draws in 13 league games, the Seagulls are capable of aiming for a top-half finish.

The 44-year-old has changed their system of gameplay while signing the likes of Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard, Matt Clarke and Adam Webster during the summer window.

The new signings have done well so far and have been consistent in Potter’s squad. While Maupay is their top scorer in the league with 4 goals to his name, Aaron Connolly, Brighton’s U23 player, has also contributed immensely to their attack.

Hughton usually deployed a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation but that has changed this season under Potter. He has mostly used either a 3-5-2 or a 5-2-3 and this has been effective to an extent.

Read more

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Verdict

The 44-year-old has taken just six months to convince the club’s board that he is capable of taking Brighton to the next level.

The Seagulls take on the mighty Liverpool in their next encounter and if Potter manages to take even a solitary point from there, it would be quite a statement.

Thus, handing Potter a new deal just seems to be a step in the right direction for Brighton.