Gel, excitement, and a spotlight on the new kid. But this wasn’t a primary school disco, rather Chelsea head coach Graham Potter explaining one of the more remarkable transfer windows from a single club in recent memory – and one he may never witness first-hand again.
That is not to say Potter’s position as head coach is under threat, more that Chelsea are set to revise their transfer strategy under co-owner Todd Boehly’s watch.
i understands a more modest approach will be adopted going forward, with an initial rebuild that surpassed half a billion pounds in transfers now seen as complete. Nevertheless, if a marquee signing looks possible this summer, expect Chelsea to join their major European rivals in competing for the world-class talent that may be on offer.
Either way, with Uefa set to amend their transfer rules from the summer – limiting amortisation which the Blues most notably utilised when signing Mykhailo Mudryk on an eight-and-a-half-year contract – Chelsea pounced in the winter window quite simply because they could, with their eight incomings viewed as long-term investments that boast an average age just above 20.
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Uefa to crack down on money-spinning friendlies as clubs seek ways to dodge new financial rules02 February, 2023This £300m-plus January spend featured a hijack when beating Arsenal to Mudryk, ended with a British transfer record for World Cup-winner Enzo Fernández, and has been dubbed a scattergun approach by some. Potter disagrees, however, deeming the “external noise” exactly that as he prepares this brimming squad to face Fulham on Friday night.
And when asked about possible resentment from rival clubs on Thursday, Potter said: “There probably is. That’s life, you don’t worry about what people think on the outside. You can’t control what people think. They’re entitled to their opinion. Some will be fair and balanced, but some will be rubbish, and we live in a world where the rubbish gets put forward.
“But I don’t think the spending will continue how it has. We have to say the next windows will be different.
“I can understand the [scattergun] perspective. I disagree with it, but I understand. What we’ve tried to do is be creative and invest in the now and the future. We’re in a position where we want to keep improving. That’s the goal of the club. The team needs to come together and gel, and there’s an excitement for that.”
Coupled with Potter’s excitement is a need to manage the egos, and with Uefa’s cut-off point 11pm on Thursday night he was tight-lipped about the names that would make and miss out on the Champions League squad.
Chelsea’s January recruits
- Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m from Benfica)
- Mykhailo Mudryk (£88.5m from Shakhtar Donetsk)
- Benoit Badiashile (£35m from Monaco)
- Noni Madueke (£26m from PSV)
- Malo Gusto (£26m from Lyon)
- Andrey Santos (£18m from Vasco Da Gama)
- David Datro Fofana (£10.5m from Molde)
- Joao Felix (£10m loan fee from Atletico Madrid)
Only three new signings are permitted to be added for the knockouts, with Chelsea taking on Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, and Potter admits that will make for some “awkward” conversations.
“Only 11 can play, only a certain amount can be in squads,” Potter added. “It’s about being open and transparent. You respect the fact players want to play and compete.”
One certainty, with Chelsea or Uefa likely to release confirmed squads today, is that club-record signing Fernández will be included.
Pressure will come with his £106.8m price-tag, but with Chelsea wary of summer competition for other midfielders and wanting to strengthen now, Potter is backing the Argentine to make an instant impact after being impressed during their initial meeting, which required a translator.
“Every transfer is a gamble, you only have to look at the market for midfield players, you’ll be quoted a lot of money,” said Potter. “We’ve got a player with a huge personality, won the World Cup, has attributes that can play in any league in the world. It doesn’t matter what the fee is.
“He’s a fighter. He understands how fortunate he is. He’s not afraid, open-minded, wants to improve. If you can play the games he’s played in at his age, it’s not straightforward to have those attributes.”
While Chelsea spent almost £100m more on Fernández than the fee he joined Benfica for last summer, Potter’s former club Brighton are being widely praised – despite the Big Six’s attempts to dismantle them – for their enviable pound-for-pound talent spotting, with £2.5m Kaoru Mitoma the latest player to dazzle on the pitch and showcase their scouting prowess.
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The full list of Premier League done deals with January transfer window closed01 February, 2023Potter accepts he is now is dealing with a “different model” than the strategy adopted at Brighton, but also suggested he is in a higher-pressure environment with a deep Champions League run the main aim in the coming months – as is qualifying for the competition next season.
“If I wanted a nice easy ride I would have stayed in my previous employment. The point of this was to shape a club in quite a significant transition,” said Potter.
“There was change in the summer, previously to that, a 20-year ownership that moved on. Loads of things happened that made it suboptimal. What we’ve done in this window is exciting. You can see the direction we’re trying to go in. To build for the future but compete now. Things are never perfect.”
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