When Graham Potter landed his first managerial role in the fourth tier of Swedish football in January 2011, few would have expected him to be leading one of the Premier League's elite teams within little over a decade.
But after overseeing Brighton and Hove Albion's fine start to the Premier League season, Potter has stepped up to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
It remains to be seen how Potter, a coach with high potential, fares with new owner Todd Boehly but his arrival in west London marks the culmination of one of the most intriguing coaching journeys in recent memory.
From Ostersunds to Chelsea, Potter's rise has been Football Manager-esque.
Here, Stats Perform delves into his coaching career to date and what it could mean for the Blues.
From humble beginnings: The stunning journey at Ostersunds
Having featured prominently for the likes of West Brom, York City and Macclesfield Town during a playing career spent entirely in England, Potter made the unconventional move to Scandinavia in 2011.
Potter, whose previous coaching experience took in roles at the University of Hull and Leeds Metropolitan University, was recommended to Ostersunds by Graeme Jones, then Roberto Martinez's assistant at Swansea.
They would not regret taking him on. Within seven years, Potter was masterminding Europa League wins against Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin, and most noticeably of all, Arsenal.
Having led the side to three promotions in five seasons, Potter oversaw a terrific Svenska Cupen triumph in 2017, earning the chance to face some of Europe's biggest names.
That 2-1 success at the Emirates in February 2018 put Potter on the map, despite Arsene Wenger's men triumphing 4-2 on aggregate at the end of their round-of-32 tie.
Despite his limited resources, Potter became the first English manager to beat the Gunners in a European tie at the Emirates Stadium, while Ostersunds were the first Swedish team to win away at an English side since 1995, earning him a move to Wales.
Making waves on the Welsh coast: Reinvigorating Swansea
Swansea City were considered one of the Premier League's best-run clubs for much of their seven-year spell among the top flight between 2011 and 2018.
But the team inherited by Potter was not built for an immediate promotion challenge following their relegation that May. Having let several key men leave, their biggest outlay in Potter's first transfer window was the £3million signing of Manchester City youngster Bersant Celina.
Potter's men may have finished some nine points adrift of a Championship play-off spot, but a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, where they suffered a controversial 3-2 defeat to City after going two goals up, put the tactician on the radar of Premier League clubs.
Despite only enjoying one season in Wales, Potter was key to the early development of the likes of Dan James and Joe Rodon, both of whom went on to join top-six clubs.
When a Premier League side were in the mood to change their style of play in 2019, Potter's sterling work in Wales put him high on their shortlist.
Seagulls soar to new heights: Potter in the Premier League
In the 2018-19 season, Chris Hughton's Brighton staved off relegation by just two points, scoring a mere 35 league goals across a dull campaign.
Potter's subsequent arrival at the club was not universally welcomed, with several pundits highlighting his lack of experience at the top level, but he quickly made them eat their words.
Although finishes of 15th and 16th in his first two campaigns may not have demonstrated obvious progress, Potter's ability to implement a progressive style was clear: having averaged 41 per cent possession in Hughton's final season, Brighton averaged 52 per cent the following year.
But the 2021-22 campaign saw Potter conduct some of his finest work to date, masterminding a ninth-place finish while losing only 11 games. Only Liverpool (two), City (three) and Chelsea (six) were beaten on fewer occasions.
In addition to the top three, only Tottenham and Wolves posted better defensive records than Brighton last term, and their high-press style was demonstrated by the fact only Liverpool and City won possession in the final third more often than the Seagulls.
On Sunday, Brighton's outstanding start to the new season went up a level, as they scored five goals in a top-flight match for the first time (in 364 outings) to blow Leicester City away.
But the Seagulls have now fallen victim to their own successes, with Potter unable to resist the advances of Chelsea.
London calling: Can Potter's methods work at Chelsea?
New owners often like to bring in their own coach upon taking charge of a club and, in that sense, Boehly's decision to dispense with Tuchel makes some sense – though doing so mere days after the end of a busy transfer window has attracted justifiable criticism.
Roman Abramovich's Chelsea tenure was characterised by success in the absence of an on-pitch identity, winning trophy after trophy despite a plethora of coaches, sackings and controversies.
If a more progressive, long-term approach is Boehly's aim, then Potter's past work suggests he could be the perfect man for the job.
Charlotte FC v LA Galaxy: Smith looking to build on 'untidy' win over Fire
Dean Smith is looking for his Charlotte FC side to build upon their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when they host the LA Galaxy this weekend.
Charlotte made it three wins in a row as they narrowly beat the Fire during midweek thanks to Ashley Westwood's 60th-minute winner.
The three-match win streak has taken Charlotte all the way up to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and though Smith was not enthralled by the manner of the victory over Chicago, he appreciated his side's mindset.
"I saw the mentality, but I didn’t see a game of football that I liked. It certainly won’t make the highlight reel," Smith told reporters.
"It wasn't a thriller of any sort. It was an untidy game from both teams but we showed real good mentality to limit them to few chances, and we took the one we had from a set piece."
The Galaxy, meanwhile, drew 2-2 at Minnesota United on Wednesday, leaving them fifth in the Western Conference and four points off leaders Real Salt Lake.
Minnesota equalised with just 10 minutes to play, but Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney still thought it was a solid point for his side.
"We've got to try to take this point and start to heal and start to recover and move on to the next one," Vanney said.
"[It is a] good, hard-earned point at the end of the day even though there was a chance for us to get three there at the tail end."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Westwood scored the lone goal in Charlotte’s win over Chicago on Wednesday at the hour mark. Nine of Charlotte's 11 goals since March 23 have been scored after half-time, and Westwood will be hoping to spur his side on once more this Saturday by finding the net again.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig assisted both of the Galaxy's goals against Minnesota on Wednesday after also recording assists on both Galaxy goals on Saturday against Salt Lake. Puig is the first Galaxy player to record multiple assists in consecutive matches since Romain Alessandrini in 2018, and he will hope to make it three such games in a row this weekend.
MATCH PREDICTION – CHARLOTTE WIN
Charlotte and the Galaxy have each recorded a 1-0 away win against the other. Both goals were scored after the 70th minute.
The Galaxy have drawn each of their last three matches with the last two ending 2-2. In their last 22 matches, the Galaxy have scored two or more goals 15 times and allowed two or more goals 17 times.
Charlotte have won three straight matches, keeping clean sheets in all three. This is the first time Charlotte have kept clean sheets in three straight matches in club history, and with home advantage this weekend, they look the favourites to pick up the three points on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte: 47.3%
Galaxy: 25.8%
Draw: 26.9%
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Leeds United 4-0 Norwich City (4-0 agg): Whites book Wembley spot in emphatic fashion
Leeds United thumped Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final to seal their place at Wembley.
After a goalless draw in the first leg left it all to play for at Elland Road on Thursday, Leeds turned on the style in front of a raucous home crowd to cruise into the final on May 26.
Ilia Gruev settled the majority of Elland Road's nerves with just seven minutes played as he caught out Angus Gunn with a long-range free-kick, curling into the space vacated by the Norwich goalkeeper's expectation of a cross.
Joel Piroe then doubled the hosts' advantage 13 minutes later, again capitalising on poor goalkeeping to beat Gunn to Wilfried Gnonto's cross and nod home.
The tie was effectively over five minutes from half-time, Georginio Rutter getting on the end of Crysencio Summerville's squared pass to rifle off the underside of the crossbar and in.
And after Gunn spilled Gnonto's low shot in the second half, Rutter cut the ball back for Summerville to poke home and secure Leeds' place in next Sunday's final, where they will meet either Southampton or West Brom.
Data debrief
Leeds may have looked pretty blunt in attack at Carrow Road, but that was far from the case on home soil as they put the Canaries to the sword in brutal fashion while keeping a 21st Championship clean sheet this season, more than any other side.
Daniel Farke's men produced 2.45 xG (expected goals) to Norwich's 0.51, while Summerville made it 20 league goals for the season, more than any other Leeds player.
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