Chelsea to pay Tuchel £15m after sacking him

Chelsea's sacking of Thomas Tuchel is set to cost the club around £15million.

Sportsmail understands that the German was one of the Premier League's top earners, on a salary in the region of £13m a year.

And with his backroom staff set to follow him out of the door, the total cost to Chelsea's new American owners is likely to be closer to the £15m mark.

However, Tuchel's severance package would lapse early - should the German find himself another job. 

While Tuchel's departure was announced this morning, after Tuesday night's shock 1-0 Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, the decision was made previously.

The new hierarchy has now been in place for 100 days after buying the club from Roman Abramovich and concerns have been raised over the direction of travel for a number of weeks.

Serious cracks emerged during Chelsea's tour of the US, in particular following a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of rivals Arsenal in their final match of a cross-country trip in Orlando.

Officials did not feel that the atmosphere around the first team squad was what it should be, despite significant investment. A dip in form at the end of last season was also taken into account.

Brighton's Graham Potter is admired, with Chelsea looking to make an appointment before their next match at Fulham on Saturday.