Chelsea Look Set to Keep Faith in Under-Fire Boss Graham Potter
Graham Potter’s new reign as Chelsea boss has got off to a far-from-ideal start. The West London club find themselves in tenth place of the English Premier League table after 20 games. With more than half of the campaign elapsed, the Blues find themselves below West London rivals Fulham and Brentford. That’s something that seems unthinkable given that new owner, Todd Boehly, has already invested £500m into the Chelsea playing squad. This explains why the sportsbooks still think Potter’s Blues have a sniff of pushing back towards the Champions League qualification spots. Their 8/1 odds with bet365 make them joint-seventh favourites for a top-four finish. The Stoke-on-Trent-based bookmaker is one of the UK’s top three operators in terms of the calibre of its bettor promotions and the value of its odds, so it’s certainly worth taking notice of their view on Chelsea.
With so much money pumped into the Chelsea squad since the takeover of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, one would be forgiven for thinking that Potter is under intense pressure to turn their season around. However, a report from Guardian journalist, Jacob Steinberg, states that the Chelsea hierarchy is prepared to be patient and give Potter time to mould his new-look squad into a winning machine.
Boehly reportedly accepts that Rome (or a Premier League title) wasn’t built in a day
Steinberg says that the ownership will “not demand instant results” and instead look to give Potter a “full pre-season with the team”. The report also indicates that this summer will result in a lot of deadwood being culled from the Chelsea squad, with several “underperforming stars” expected to be moved on. By the start of the 2023/24 campaign, it will be very much Potter’s squad, allowing him to be judged fairly.
In the last two transfer windows, Chelsea of recruited 16 new permanent signings, as well as two additional loanees. With so many new faces, it would be hard for even the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp to mould the squad and instil their respective patterns of play. It’s almost refreshing to see a top Premier League club showing patience and a long-term outlook. Handing new recruits Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez eight-and-a-half-year contracts is testament to this, even if the length of their deals was more of an accounting exercise to circumvent the Financial Fair Play (FFP) guidelines.
Chelsea’s squad overhaul will require lots of summer exits
The Stamford Bridge departure lounge was already starting to fill before the end of the January transfer window. The Blues were prepared to accept £12m for Brazilian midfielder Jorginho, who made the short switch to North London and title hopefuls Arsenal. Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech was wanted by French outfit Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a loan basis until the end of the season. The Blues were happy to sanction the temporary switch at the 11th hour, but the late nature of the deal meant that paperwork could not be finalised ahead of the transfer deadline. Ziyech remains a Chelsea player and will miss out on the chance to play with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Steinberg also reports that the likes of Christian Pulisic, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly and even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be floated on the transfer market this summer. Koulibaly was signed from Napoli last summer in a deal worth £33m, but the club may see little resale value in a centre back that’ll be 32 by the start of the 2023/24 season. Similarly, Aubameyang proved to be a £10m panic buy from Barcelona last September, with the Gabon international also set to turn 34 this summer. Even talisman Romelu Lukaku, who is currently enjoying a second spell with Inter Milan, could be allowed to remain an Inter player on loan next term.
Following the club’s latest January spending spree, Potter admitted to the media that several of his first-team squad will be left “disappointed” when the club submits its squad for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.
Despite being “excited” about the issues of managing a deeper squad of players, Potter was realistic enough to accept there would be several “awkward conversations” to be had with senior players but it was the “reality” of the situation with the club in transition to a longer-term strategy.
