Chelsea's record-breaking spending won't continue, claims Potter

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 3 Feb 2023 08:44 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has admitted he believes the Blues' lucrative transfer window spending won't continue after a record-breaking winter window.

The West London club outspent the entirety of La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A combined in January, with €330 million splashed on new stars as they look to arrest their slide down the Premier League table.

In fact, Todd Boehly has spent over €600m on 16 players since he took over as Chelsea owner in 2022, which includes a British record transfer fee on Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

The 2022 World Cup winner was linked with a move all month, but finally joined the Blues in the dying minutes of Deadline Day.

David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, Joao Felix (loan), Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, and Malo Gusto also arrived in January, while Christopher Nkunku is set to join the club this summer after signing a pre-contract agreement.

However, Potter has told fans not to expect similar spending to continue at Stamford Bridge.

What has Potter said?

Speaking in his press conference ahead of Chelsea's clash against Fulham in the Premier League, Potter admitted: "I don’t think the spending will continue as it has. There was a regeneration [of the squad] and I think we have to say the next window and the window after will be different that’s for sure."

Potter was then questioned about the signing of Fernandez, who is expected to replace Jorginho in the Blues starting XI after the Italian's transfer to London rivals Arsenal.

"I can understand it [why people might call the signing a gamble], absolutely. Every transfer is a gamble," Potter replied.

"If you look at the market for midfield players – certainly midfield players that haven’t won the World Cup – you’ll be quoted a lot of money. We’ve got a player with a huge personality. He played in the midfield for Argentina that won the World Cup. He has attributes that can help him play in any league in the world. He has already played well in the Champions League.

"We followed him before the World Cup, we knew about him anyway. We’re confident on the personality. It’s like anything: he’s still a young person, he’s still a young man coming to this country. ‘You’ve got to adapt to the club. But we’ll help him with that and his personality is one where you think “Oh, I’ve got no worries about him”.

"He’s a fighter. I think he understands how fortunate he is. He fights for the team. He’s got courage, he’s not afraid, he’s open-minded. He wants to play football, he wants to improve.

"If you’re playing as the No6 for Argentina and you’re playing the big games he’s played in at his age, and with the quality he’s shown, it’s not straightforward to have those attributes."

Fernandez could make his Chelsea debut against Fulham on Friday night.