TheCable

When Newcastle United splashed £95 million on transfers last January, the Saudi-acquired club was accused of buying its way out of relegation, never mind that they are presently in the top four. One year on and Chelsea has spent more as a lukewarm season unravels at the Stamford Bridge club.

Chelsea are in danger of missing out on top four for the first time in five years and after changing ownership, they are stuck with Graham Potter- a surprise appointment- who performed admirably at Brighton but is finding it tough in London.

The Blues have won just twice in ten matches and although Potter has been strongly backed with mega-buck transfers, it remains to be seen if the aim is to ensure a top-four finish that guarantees a place in the UEFA Champions League next season. Or perhaps it is to start a revolution at the club that will see a clearing out of ageing senior players in the summer.

The latter seems more plausible because Chelsea’s squad is littered with ageing players including Thiago Silva, Jorginho, Kalilou Koulibaly, N’Golo Kante, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Cesar Azpilicueta. Ted Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and his recruitment team have made shrewd deals to replace them while Potter introduces young academy graduates to the squad.

Gabriel Slonina is a long-term replacement in goal while Benoit Badiashile should be the bedrock of a future defence. Andre Santos will have a season or two to learn, while youngsters Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke can be thrown into the deep end of the pool as Chelsea struggle to create chances or score goals. Add into the mix the fact that Potter is a coach that builds working systems, then it can be said that a better Chelsea will emerge next season.

However, the presence of these players should reawaken and galvanise the sleeping six-time EPL winners into a winning run that could culminate in snatching the much-coveted fourth position from the tenth position they currently occupy. Badiashile already looks like a good signing on his debut while Mudryk and Madueke will provide potent options in attack.

Whatever the case, Ted Boehly spoke about Chelsea reaching their full potential under Potter in “months and years” when snapping the English coach from Brighton.
“We look forward to supporting him, his coaching team, and the squad in realizing their full potential in the coming months and years,” Boehly had said late last year.

This, and the transfer moves, indicate that the Blues’ co-owner wants his team to aim for both objectives with the season only halfway gone and just ten points to make up on the fourth-placed team. It remains to be seen if the cash splash and solid backing of Potter would achieve the set objectives of the Boehly team.