Chelsea’s project, for me, is the best in the world on the face of it. Looking at the facts, we have a restructured hierarchy with appointments that boast impressive track records, an ownership that have deep pockets and a relentless drive from the higher-ups to recruit the best talents in the world. This means that having deep pockets actually means something, other projects either have owners that don’t want to spend, won’t spend as much as us or spend with no plan. 

The media, all the way from newspapers to pundits have published and continue to publish lies around Chelsea’s spending, the stability of the last two transfer window outlays and in plenty of cases getting the prices wrong of Chelsea’s signings to deliberately boost the pressure on Potter. I am assured that a lot of the signings we have made were discussed based on data performance which is something the ownership really want to push when analysing potential signings so whatever the media wants to say about Chelsea’s signings, Graham just needs to let that happen and not rise to it, he knows the truth.

He (Graham Potter) will be the focus of debate over the coming months. They (Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital) clearly think he IS the right man, the initial reports outlined that the reason they hired Graham Potter is not just because of the results and ability to take Chelsea back to the top, but also the cultural fit, how he manages players, expresses himself to the media and the willingness to communicate regularly to the higher-ups, something which Thomas Tuchel did not want to do on a regular basis. 

Potter himself has spoken about every department being aligned with the overall vision of the club and that is very important as there have been many cases of disconnects between players, managers and staff under the previous ownership.

Naturally, you would think he will get the rest of this season in charge and the rest of next season before any decisions are made and by that point Chelsea could look a whole lot better, but even with all the backing internally and externally through the fed reports to the media, there is still a lingering feeling inside me that thinks Boehly & Clearlake Capital will hire a manager soon enough that has a track record of winning trophies. Time, In my opinion, will be more limited for Potter after such a huge financial outlay.

I think the plan is for Potter to be the builder and then a winner will come in with a similar style of play and finish the work created by Potter by winning the Premier League or Champions League. I could be wrong, just a hunch I have.

What Potter needs to do from now until the end of the season is implement a clear and consistent style of play. He had two weeks on the training ground before the game last night and yet we saw a completely disjointed team with no confidence or idea of how to attack and break down a deep block.

Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Marc Cucurella aren’t even new players yet their individual performances were shot of confidence. My specific question last night was why Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher were so high up on the pitch? It left Enzo Fernández isolated on transition, to his credit he played very well however we saw this constant gap between midfield and attack under Lampard and at times Thomas Tuchel. I didn’t understand the plan from minute 1 to minute 90 of how we were going to win and I have felt like this on so many occasions this season.

Fulham had inferior players yet passed the ball around us like prime Barcelona, they had combinations, patterns and purpose to their play, Chelsea did not.

There are also questions about his line-ups, does he have favourites? Is he ruthless enough? does he make changes quick enough when a game is going bad? eyebrows are further raised after bad results when he comes out to the media and says “the players gave it all” when anyone with a pair of working eyes could see they didn’t.

So, why should fans hold onto hope?  

Historically Graham Potter’s teams have only gotten better after a rough 1.5-2 seasons. As we know though, time is the biggest enemy of managers at Chelsea, can Graham Potter fast-track progress this time with the investment from the owners? One suspects he has to.

Fans can see that Potter has moved away from Thomas Tuchel’s back three, instead deploying mainly a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, which will please fans on the face of things. Potter is also tactically versatile and less stubborn but has yet to register a win against the big six this season in four attempts. Questions remain over his ability with Chelsea to beat the best teams and tactically outclass the best managers but those questions will be answered further and with more context in Chelsea’s champions league run this season with a clash against Dortmund around the corner.

He has also shown that he is not afraid to bed in young players, Lewis Hall has seen regular game time with David Datro Fofana, Omari Hutchinson and Carney Chukwuemeka all featuring off the bench in recent weeks. 

Perhaps the biggest positive about Graham Potter is his ability to attract top players, we have heard about the presentations that Behdad Egbhali presented targets with but at the end of the day, all of our signings have had to make the decision over whether they want to play for Potter yet personal terms have been no problem with any of our signings thus far under him. 

Are they coming for money? No, absolutely not, as part of the new plan, Todd Boehly is offering incentivised contracts to players where the player’s base wage is actually low with the opportunity to increase the money earned through performance based targets. This means Chelsea are attracting young, hungry players who want to achieve big things rather than greedy players coming for a paycheck and a nice time in London. 

There have been reports from the likes of The Athletic about Potter’s conversations with targets, so clearly the signings are buying into what Potter is telling them. 

Some of the most coveted players in Europe including Christopher Nkunku, Enzo Fernández and Mykhailo Mudryk could have waited until the summer for other top clubs to present themselves, yet they very quickly jumped ship and agreed to join Chelsea. This is what gives me hope for the future. 

Even the likes of Brazilian gem Andrey Santos, who was signed from Vasco Da Gama for £12m, decided to join Chelsea despite interest from Newcastle and Manchester City. 

A front four of Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke/Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz should be creating and scoring goals without any issues, in terms of the different attributes between each player, they should mix together quite nicely as you don’t want to recruit players with the same profile or similar top attributes. 

Even if the results aren’t there, performances have to be, Chelsea currently rank below 10th for chances created whilst 22 goals after 21 games is the lowest recorded tally from the club since 1995/96, this is completely unacceptable and with the lavish spending this month you need to be turning these stats around fast.

The summer clear out : 

Chelsea will undoubtedly look to conduct a summer clear out, Potter *should* in theory get the chance to make the squad fully his own but despite all the backing through media reports, I think the rest of this season could be seen as the decider in Todd Boehly and Behdad Egbhali’s eyes as to whether he deserves that chance or not.

Sources have suggested that should Chelsea not qualify for the Champions League, academy graduates fear they will be the first men on the summer transfer hit list as their sales count as pure profit on the financial books of the club. 

Graham Potter spoke last night on Sky Sports about the challenge of managing a thirty-three-man squad which I do appreciate but again, the owners and fans know he was hired for his ability to man-manage players very well. The first ever interviews from Potter on Chelsea’s website included plenty of talk about creating a culture, adopting human values and showing and providing emotional intelligence, as well as creating stability. 

I have compiled a list of sales that I think Chelsea should make in the summer, as well as a possible cash return.

GK’s : 

• Mendy – £30m, I believe this is perfectly realistic for a player who has only dropped off for a few months and was the best goalkeeper in the world in 2021.  AC Milan and Lyon could be intriguing clubs for Edouard. 

• Kepa (25-30m), Chelsea are targeting a number 1 and I expect Slonina to be the backup next season, Kepa will want to play regular first team football and Chelsea won’t stand in the way for a good offer, I’m looking at Spanish clubs or Italian clubs for a sale, his huge wages could be an issue. 

Defenders : 

• Trevoh Chalobah (£30m+ add ons), I quite like Trevoh, but I fear his game time will become limited and clubs could come in with bids from abroad or England, for reference, I believe Chelsea’s two right centre backs next season will be Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana whilst Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill occupate the left centre back slots. One might argue that with Silva’s age and Fofana’s injuries, we need three right centre backs, I just feel what I said above is how it will go. 

• Kalidou Koulibaly (£20m), astonishingly, Kalidou Koulibaly would be one of the first players I’d sell in the summer, the lack of leadership and defensive ability is something I never thought I’d say during his time at Chelsea, yet I’m saying it after a few months, his passing ability has also been subpar and his rash tendencies bring Chelsea into trouble during matches, I could see him returning to Napoli. 

• Ben Chilwell (£45m+), I’ve put Ben here because I personally believe the club won’t sell Cucurella especially if they stick with Potter and with the emergence of Ian Maatsen, Ben could be a surprise sale in the summer of 2023. His form for the rest of the season could dictate his future and there’s always the possibility that Maatsen gets cashed in on instead. 

Midfielders : 

• Ruben Loftus Cheek (£10m), I think we could actually get a bit more, but with his wages and age plus a bad injury record, I’m not sure who takes the chance on Ruben for anything more than £10m. A player that is practically useless if Potter persists with a 4-2-3-1, I expect Ruben to finally leave Chelsea permanently in the summer. 

• Conor Gallagher (£40m), not much to really say other than I’m actually shocked Everton put in such a high bid on deadline day. Gallagher is not starting standard and for squad depth I feel we could do much better, the club will likely use Gallagher for funds to reinvest, and I’m not against it at all. (Crystal Palace, Everton, and Newcastle could all be potential options) 

• Mason Mount (£65m), this will be dependent on contract negotiations but Mount’s form over several months leads me to conclude we should be listening to offers, perhaps a less of a starting role would be beneficial for Mason next season at Chelsea, but for me he is very quickly regressing as a talent, every single game for the last few months he doesn’t see a pass which could lead to an easy goal and when he does see the pass, he rarely pulls it off. His role is not defined in Chelsea’s future under Potter and the club should have eagle eyes on bids. 

Forwards : 

• Aubameyang (£5m), easiest choice for a sale in the summer, Potter has dropped him from this season’s Champions League squad and clearly does not rate him. Aubameyang has been treated a bit harshly perhaps considering the performances of Havertz, I just feel he will be one of the first to move on. (AC Milan, Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Saudi clubs, MLS) could all be potential destinations. 

• Kai Havertz (£50m), I’d sell Kai personally unless he is the backup number 10 next season to Joao Felix who I think we will sign permanently, the club need a couple of big sales and I think Kai should be one, his league performances over the last three seasons have been extremely underwhelming and I just don’t see the talent that others see in him. With the emergence of Christopher Nkunku and the possibility that Chelsea sign another striker, Kai’s role is not defined and his game time will be limited here next season. 

• Armando Broja (£20m), I think Chelsea could use the summer as a quick way out on Broja, he will not feature until next season due to a knee injury and with the summer window nearly ending in an exit permanently due to him wanting game time, I see a situation where both sides amicably agree to sadly part ways. 

• Christian Pulisic (£40m), some people might think this price is high, but when Anthony Gordon is going for £45m, I actually think £40m is cheap considering his raw ability. The issue is he’s rarely ever consistent as a starter yet wants to be one, I don’t think his future is here but he could light it up abroad again.

• Hakim Ziyech (£10-15m), again I think this is a cheap price for any interested clubs but one I would certainly sanction, I expect our right-sided options next season to be Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke and with Nkunku and Felix also options to play down the flanks, Ziyech is certainly going to be sold. 

Assuming all of those listed players leave for those prices which I think are very much in the rough ballpark of what Chelsea would ask for, that’s around £390m-£400m so a lot of money is still within this squad that could be reinvested into much better players. 

Lawrence Stewart and Paul Winstanley will head up summer sales and purchases in what could be a defining summer for Chelsea’s future. 

Potter now has the rest of this season to prove to the fans and most importantly the ownership that he is the man to lead the team forward on the pitch, improvements to the play in the midfield and attacking areas are a must whilst consistency is cherished. 

If you cannot provide entertaining football with players like Joao Felix, Enzo Fernández and Mykhalio Mudryk, then maybe the Chelsea job is not for you. 

As always in football, time will tell, but just how much time he is afforded will be down to the Stamford Bridge faithful and those above him.