Potter SLAMS Chelsea's transfer policy

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 27 Sept 2024 11:48 BST
• 4 min read

Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter has opened up on his seven-month stint at Stamford Bridge.

The coach has been out of work since he was given his marching orders in April 2023. Potter had taken over Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea but was unable to change the club's fortunes around, leaving with a lowly 38.71% win record.

But the Englishman has defended his record at Chelsea, stating that key injuries, as well as the number of squad members the club had, were part of the reason why he was let go.

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In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Potter said: “We lost Reece [James] and Wesley [Fofana] to injury. I think we had the most players at the World Cup and pretty quickly afterwards we lost Raheem [Sterling] and Christian Pulisic.

“Then the ownership decided to invest a lot of money in the squad, £300 million in the January transfer window.

"Now, if you are spending £300 million on players that are coming from outside the Premier League, from countries that are having a mid-season break, then the reality is you can’t just imagine they are going to hit the ground running and everything’s going to be fine.

“But, obviously, if you spend £300 million, the pressure on the team goes up and the pressure on the coach goes up. And people go: ‘Come on then, you’ve spent all this money.’

"I think if I’d have spent it on Harry Kane and Declan Rice, then fair enough, but at the time that was the decision. We tried to support it as best we could, but it left us with a challenge of a lot of players after January and then they can’t go anywhere.”

Ajax keen on Potter

Ajax were close to appointing Potter and at one stage earlier this year, there seemed to be at an agreement with the former Chelsea and Brighton boss.

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It was reported that Potter’s agent, John Morris, was playing hardball and Ajax pulled out as a result. They wanted to get a deal wrapped up a fortnight ago, but the final agreement is still not there.

Dutch pundit Mike Verweij had previously expressed his concern over the issue during the early part of negotiations.

"What bothers me about Potter," Verweij began in De Telegraaf, "is that you hear and understand very clearly that he is suitable for Ajax. Okay, but he would rather go to another club.”

“If I were in the club management of Ajax - don't worry, that will never happen - I would not want a head coach who only chooses Ajax if he receives no other offers. You have to choose a manager who is eager to start working at Ajax."