Joao Felix could be a Chelsea player any day now. The Atletico Madrid forward is leaving the Spanish capital on loan after the further deterioration of his relationship with manager Diego Simeone. It is fair to suggest that his £113 million transfer from Benfica hasn’t exactly gone to plan.
But at Stamford Bridge he will need to make a fast start if he is to help boss Graham Potter to keep his job. Potter is under pressure after a poor run for the Blues since his appointment in September, and the need to get his January signings making a big impact is very real.
Besides Felix, Potter has already brought in Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos this month, but the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager is still very much playing with somebody else’s deck right now. The expectation that he gets a squad built in so many different visions to mesh together is probably unrealistic.
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Chelsea’s squad is one which has been constructed by seven different managers. Their first-team group includes players either signed or given their debuts by Potter, Thomas Tuchel, Frank Lampard, Maurizio Sarri, Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho and even Roberto Di Matteo. Is there any wonder Potter has struggled to get them united in their play under yet another different project?
Compare that figure with Premier League champions Manchester City, who have a squad comprising players signed by just two different managers, with only Kevin De Bruyne surviving the Manuel Pellegrini era which preceded current boss Pep Guardiola’s spell. Elsewhere, of leaders Arsenal’s 24-man squad 14 (58.3%) have come in under Mikel Arteta, with five each added by Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger.
Newcastle United’s new era has seen a squad developed by five managers, with Eddie Howe accounting for eight (30%) of their 27-player selection, and over at Manchester United Erik ten Hag has overseen an upturn with a squad which also features signings by five separate bosses, the Dutchman contributing six (24%) of the 25-man pool.
So why should Potter – who has given debuts to two youngsters and added three early January signings, accounting for 16% of their 31-strong squad – be expected to turn things around overnight?
The sheer number of managers who have had a say in the current dressing room culture at Chelsea is dizzying…
ROBERTO DI MATTEO
Signed:
Cesar Azpilicueta (2012)
JOSE MOURINHO
Debuted:
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (2014)
ANTONIO CONTE
Signed:
N’Golo Kante (2016)
MAURIZIO SARRI
Signed:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (2018)
Jorginho (2018)
Mateo Kovacic (2018)
Christian Pulisic (2019)
FRANK LAMPARD
Signed:
Edouard Mendy (2020)
Thiago Silva (2020)
Ben Chilwell (2020)
Hakim Ziyech (2020)
Kai Havertz (2020)
Debuted:
Mason Mount (2019)
Reece James (2019)
Armando Broja (2020)
THOMAS TUCHEL
Signed:
Marcus Bettinelli (2021)
Kalidou Koulibaly (2022)
Marc Cucurella (2022)
Wesley Fofana (2022)
Denis Zakaria (2022)
Carney Chukwuemeka (2022)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022)
Raheem Sterling (2022)
Debuted:
Trevoh Chalobah (2021)
Lewis Hall (2022)
Conor Gallagher (2022)
GRAHAM POTTER
Signed:
Benoit Badiashile (2023)
David Datro Fofana (2023)
Andrey Santos (2023)
Debuted:
Bashir Humphreys (2023)
Omari Hutchinson (2023)
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
