Fabrizio Romano has given an update on Graham Potter’s future at Chelsea amid their terrible run of form.
Potter began well in West London after replacing Thomas Tuchel in September, winning six and drawing three of his first nine games in charge, but the 4-1 defeat at the hands of his former side Brighton & Hove Albion has derailed his start and set the Blues on a run of four straight domestic defeats.
However, Romano has backed the Englishman by insisting it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he hasn’t continued the early results he achieved upon arriving at Stamford Bridge.
“Another poor result and performance for Chelsea [vs Newcastle United], but I wouldn’t rush to conclusions about this new project just yet,” he told Caught Offside.
“All people at Chelsea know that this will take time. It takes time to bring in new ideas, new manager, new methods, and of course the new directors who will join the club in 2023… it’s part of the rebuilding.
“Everything is new at Chelsea, we’re only a few months into this new era. I think this World Cup break comes at a good time for them. It’s an opportunity to re-start, understand the new vision, and work hard for it.”
Our thoughts on Romano’s comments…
The Italian has hit the nail on the head with the struggles at Chelsea also stemming from uncertainty behind the scenes, as Todd Boehly gets his board in order with Paul Winstanley set to be the latest arrival after Joe Shields, Kyle Macauley and Laurence Stewart to the senior staff.
His problems have also been exacerbated by the injury to Reece James and more recently Ben Chilwell with his preferred back-three formation struggling to work without his two main wing-backs.
This forced him to play Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic in the make-shift roles in the disastrous loss at the AMEX which was the catalyst for this poor run of form.
The World Cup break has come at the perfect time for Potter and the Blues with them able to get their missing key players back to fitness and ready to mount a charge on the top four come the new year, the upcoming transfer window is also set to be utilised by Boehly to allow the 47-year-old the opportunity to bring his own transfers into the squad.