Former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson has admitted he thought Chelsea would have appointed Mauricio Pochettino following the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel earlier this month.

Chelsea would go on to appoint Graham Potter as the new manager, but Johnson thinks Pochettino would have been a better option who would have saved Chelsea some money.

“When Thomas Tuchel was sacked I thought it was obvious that Chelsea would move for Mauricio Pochettino, but obviously I got it wrong,” Johnson told Bettingodds.com.

“He would have been the man for me. I know some people were saying it would have been a cheaper option to go for Graham Potter, but it doesn’t sound that way does it?

“They’ve had to pay many millions for the compensation and then pay a £10 million-a-year salary. You could have saved the £20 million it’s taken for Chelsea to get Potter and his backroom staff and got Pochettino instead.”

Johnson also revealed his shock that the new owners decided to sack Thomas Tuchel so early into the season.

On Tuchel’s sacking, Johnson added: “I was as shocked as anybody to be honest. Obviously the owners had something in their mind whilst they were buying the club.

“It didn’t warrant a sacking at all. They were making progress and had made a few signings, so it’s a total shock and it could be a decision that comes back to bite them.

“His stock won’t have dropped at all. He would be on anybody’s shortlist. I’m not necessarily saying he would be everybody’s number one target, but he’d definitely be in the conversation. It was only 18 months ago when they won the Champions League.”