Club News: Glen Johnson highlights Graham Potter’s priority at Chelsea in debut season
Former Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson believes that the Blues won’t need to spend heavily in the January transfer window. The west London went on a shopping spree and spent over £270 million this summer.
Chelsea bolstered their squad and added seven senior players. Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wesley Fofana, and Kalidou Koulibaly were some of the big names that were signed this summer.
But things then changed at the London club and manager Thomas Tuchel, who signed all the aforementioned stars, was surprisingly sacked. Graham Potter was appointed as the new manager less than 24 hours after the sacking.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion manager has to date only managed one game, a 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg at home in the Champions League. Two Premier League games against Fulham and Liverpool were postponed following the death of The Queen.
Potter is still new and will need time to implement his tactics and get to know the players well. And Johnson, while speaking to Express Sport (h/t football.london), has urged his former side to not spend heavily in the January window.
“I think they’ve got a good enough squad, to be honest. I think his priority will be getting used to the players, settling in and just trying to get his feet under the desk. I don’t think he necessarily needs to go and sign certain players but just needs to find out the players that don’t want to be there, and the ones that do, and then cipher it out that way.”
He is not wrong in his assessment. The west London club is filled with exciting talents, both young and experienced. Potter has good enough squad depth to compete in all the competitions and needs to find the best in all the players.
Chelsea have not got off to a very good start this season. The Blues currently sit seventh on the table with ten points from six games, eight behind leaders Arsenal. In Europe, things have been worse with the west London side sitting at the bottom of their group with only one point.
It remains to be seen how Potter decides to go further. The Blues will return to action on October 1 when they travel to face Crystal Palace. Whether the new manager continues with the squad he has or decided to revamp it in January, is something only time can tell.
More Chelsea News:
- Sander Berge shuts down rumours linking him to Chelsea
- Richarlison reveals that Chelsea made an offer to sign him in the summer
- Stan Collymore suggested Chelsea to sign either Danny Ings or Ollie Watkins
The likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei offer options to Chelsea several years down the line. In that aspect, Johnson is right. Perhaps an extra centre-forward won’t hurt but the Blues signed a mix of young and ‘experienced’ players this summer to an extent where they can relax for a bit now.