Chelsea boss Potter makes January transfer vow

FT Desk

9 Oct 2022 10:14 BST
3 min read

Chelsea spent a record €300 million in the summer transfer window and have got off to a flying start under new head coach Graham Potter.

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Chelsea spent big this summer, Todd Boehly being good to his word having replaced Roman Abramovich as owner at the club, with the likes of Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arriving.

And the Blues are off to a flying start under Graham Potter, winning each of their last three games under the former Brighton manager, who replaced Thomas Tuchel last month.

Raheem Sterling has already swapped his new Chelsea jersey for another team's one 😂

(🎥: @edou_mendy_) pic.twitter.com/xDBh5YiD1v
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 14, 2022

The most recent of those was a 3-0 victory over Wolves on Saturday, which was notable for more than just the scoreline. Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja got the goals - each of them 24 or younger - while there were four academy graduates playing.

Sterling and Aubameyang were unused substitutes, but Carney Chukwuemeka, an 18-year-old, £20m (€22.8m) arrival from Aston Villa who fits Boehly's 'Vision 2030', got a run-out.

There was more than €100m worth a new defensive talent on the pitch in the shape of Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly, though, and Potter says he's happy to work with whichever players happen to be at the club.

'Looking for options'

"I've not thought about the transfer window, thanks for reminding me of that!" he told reporters after the Wolves win.

"I've been busy with three matches in a week, but my answer is always that any club has to be, when the window is open, looking for options and how they can improve. But my job as head coach is to help the players that are here and help them improve.

"You can see from the team today that there are a lot of positives, but we are not at our maximum, but that is exciting as well because we can help the team and individuals get better."

Young players nonetheless seem to be the order of the day at Chelsea, and the 33-year-old Aubameyang has already sounded out PSG with his future at Stanford Bridge looking uncertain.