Graham Potter ‘has interview with Lyon’ as the former Chelsea and Brighton boss is

French side Lyon are reportedly targeting Graham Potter as a potential successor for their under-fire manager Laurent Blanc.

Lyon have endured a miserable start to their Ligue 1 season with one point in four games leaving them bottom of the table. 

Players were given a dressing down by the club’s ultras after their 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend, with the club now said to be looking into replacements for Blanc.

French outlet L’Equipe have now reported that Potter held an interview with the club’s American owner John Textor on Tuesday over the managerial position.

Lyon are considering him as a replacement for Blanc, while Potter himself is said to be interested in the project at the Groupama Stadium.

Graham Potter is reportedly in talks to become the next manager of French side Lyon

Lyon are bottom of Ligue 1 with one point in four games and players were given an extraordinary dressing down by their fans on Sunday after a 4-1 defeat against PSG

The French side are considering potential replacements for under-fire boss Laurent Blanc

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April, after less than seven months in charge.

The 48-year-old suffered 11 defeats in 31 games after replacing Thomas Tuchel, as he struggled to deal with Chelsea’s bloated squad following their heavy spending last season.

Potter though did impress at Brighton beforehand, leading them to their first top-half finish in 2022 since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2017.

He had previously been in contention to become manager of Nice, before the French side instead decided to hire 34-year-old Francesco Farioli from Turkish side Alanyaspor in June. 

Lyon were once the top team in France, winning the Ligue 1 title in seven straight seasons from 2002 to 2008.

However, they have not won a league title since with Paris Saint-Germain dominating the league over the past decade. 

Lyon were 4-0 down at half-time against PSG at the weekend thanks to a Kylian Mbappe brace and goals from Achraf Hakimi and summer signing Marco Asensio. 

Corentin Tolisso’s second-half penalty provided some scant consolation for Lyon, who also suffered a 4-1 loss to Montpellier last month.

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April after less than seven months in charge

After the final whistle against PSG, the players stood in front of the Virage Nord, the end housing the Bad Gones ultras – Lyon’s most prominent ultras group and one of the biggest in Ligue 1.

Lyon players sheepishly stared towards the stands as one of the ultras leaders addressed them with a megaphone.

‘To the Olympique Lyonnais 2023-2024 squad, this message is addressed to you,’ he said.

‘To those who assume the status of dressing-room leaders, the message is clear: If there are leaders in this dressing room, they no longer have the right to remain silent.

‘You’re wearing the Olympique Lyonnais jersey. You’re the ones who wear the Olympique Lyon jersey.

‘Others before you have worn it, glorified it.

Lyon players were warned against ‘smearing’ the club’s shirt after losing 4-1 to PSG

One of the leaders of the Bad Gones ultras group urged the team’s leaders to step up

‘You don’t have the right to tarnish it. Now that the transfer window is over, the squad is here. All we ask is to be by your side.

‘But to do that, you’re going to have to earn it. We love and respect this shirt.

‘There’s only one other thing we ask: to sing your names. Sing them with love, not like we sang the names of the little *******. who have left our club in the last six months.

‘We want to sing your names with respect, with love. Because we know you play with love.

‘But we expect you guys to respect our jersey […] and if we have to take our losses to do so with our heads held high. Go OL.’