Chris Sutton: Ex-Chelsea striker says club are in 'complete disarray' over transfers

12th Jan 2023 | Source: BBC

Joao Felix became the 13th signing under Todd Boehly's ownership when he joined Chelsea on a six-month loan on Wednesday

Chelsea are in "complete disarray" with their transfer strategy, says former Blues striker Chris Sutton.

The club made their fourth signing of the January window with the loan arrival of Joao Felix on Wednesday.

"They are making it up as they go along," Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live. "They have done all season."

Chelsea have spent nearly £350m on signings since a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly took control of the club in May last year.

Despite that outlay, they are 10th in the Premier League and out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. They have won only two of their past nine matches, and fans have chanted for former manager Thomas Tuchel and ex-owner Roman Abramovich.

Here BBC Sport looks at what is going wrong at Stamford Bridge.

What's the background?

Chelsea's season has been split between two managers with Graham Potter taking over from Tuchel, who was sacked in early September when the club were sixth.

Tuchel v Potter
Chelsea (all competitions)	Thomas Tuchel	Graham Potter
Games played	100	18
Win percentage	60%	44%
Goals per game	1.68	1.22
Shots per game	15.2	11.8
Shot conversion rate (including blocks)	11.1%	10.3%
Possession	61.4%	57.4%
Goals conceded per game	0.77	1.06
Shots conceded per game	8.9	10.8
Clean sheet percentage	49%	33%

Potter began his reign by going nine games unbeaten, but Chelsea have since slipped down the table, with a spate of injury problems and new signings not working out.

The Blues have nine first-team players out of action, with forwards Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic the latest additions after they both limped off in Chelsea's 1-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester City.

Potter said those injuries had "sharpened" Chelsea's focus in their pursuit of Portugal international Joao Felix, who arrives on a sixth-month loan from Atletico Madrid.

They had previously spent just over £60m on four January signings, with Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos all joining on permanent deals.

'Chelsea are in a mess' - Sutton

Joao Felix joins Chelsea on loan for the rest of the season for a fee of 11 million euros (£9.7m)

Asked whether Joao Felix is the signing Chelsea need to finally kickstart their season, Sutton said: "Who knows? He's obviously become available and he's a talented player but I'm not so sure he's a Graham Potter signing.

"Chelsea are in complete disarray. They are in a mess and anyone who's out there and available at this moment in time, they are trying to buy to improve the team."

Sutton said it was Potter's responsibility to get more out of an "underperforming" side.

"Since Potter has come in, the team hasn't progressed," he said. "There's an argument they've regressed under him.

"There are Chelsea fans out there who have run out of patience with Potter. He needs to get the team playing well and picking up points quickly."

'Potter's promising start forgotten'

Chelsea fan Ross Mooring

The chants for Tuchel and Abramovich during last weekend's chastening FA Cup defeat at Manchester City underlined the unhappiness with current results for a club used to quick-fixing its on-field problems.

They speak to frustration at Chelsea's performances, and that for the hundreds of millions spent on signings since Boehly and co took over, there are still glaring weaknesses in this squad.

Potter's promising start has been forgotten, however a glut of injuries has left him with plenty of square pegs to fill multiple round holes in a patchwork first XI that has struggled to build chemistry.

Will the exciting - on paper - loan signing of Joao Felix fix this? Chelsea certainly need forwards right now, but even if the Portuguese revives his career in a way that other recent Atletico signings have not, opinions are split on whether this would be a mere band-aid, with clubs like City and Arsenal currently way out of sight.

Analysis

BBC Sport's Alistair Magowan

Chelsea's decision to pay almost £10m plus sizable wages for the six-month loan of Joao Felix continues the club's confusing transfer policy under Boehly.

The Portuguese forward's move makes sense from a short-term view, given that Pulisic and Sterling are both out injured and Chelsea need a lift to get them back among the chasing pack for next season's Champions League places.

But it underlines the new ownership's willingness to pay inflated prices at a time when they are yet to clearly show how they will comply with financial fair play regulations. They are already on Uefa's watchlist. It also continues a policy of addressing areas of the pitch which are well stocked, while failing to boost positions of weakness.

Last summer, Boehly and fellow co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali shelled out more than £250m on players before they sacked Tuchel and appointed Potter as manager. In this window, they have paid £35m for Benoit Badiashile, whose preference is a left centre-back role, having already bought two players who can play there in the last window - Marc Cucurella for £60m and Kalidou Koulibaly for £34m.

What Chelsea really need is a forward to convert the chances they create, but Romelu Lukaku was quickly loaned back to Inter Milan and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has struggled after he became one of the last signings of Tuchel's reign. Midfield is another area of concern amid the ongoing injuries to N'Golo Kante, and there is lack of adequate cover for injured right-back Reece James.

Chelsea's policy appears to be spending their way out of trouble, but it hasn't worked well so far. The club will point out that many of the players bought are young, and therefore could bring profit in the future. Lengthy contracts also mean that any fees paid will be amortised and paid over the course of the deal, helping to balance the books.

Chelsea fans will hope that after a chaotic seven months since the takeover, there is a more coherent transfer strategy for the rest of January and next summer. There is more money to spend, but missing out on the Champions League next season will have an impact.

Boehly has now stepped down as interim sporting director, allowing technical director Christopher Vivell and recruitment specialist Paul Winstanley to do that work, which might create less noise.

'The hardest job in football' - Potter

With pressure mounting on Potter, the Chelsea boss said on Wednesday he felt he had "probably the hardest job in football".

He said that was because "of the leadership change and because of the expectations and, rightly, where people see Chelsea".

In Abramovich's 19 years at Stamford Bridge, the club won every major trophy - two Champions Leagues, including one under Tuchel, five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, two Europa Leagues and three EFL Cups.

"It's fantastic what they achieved," said Potter. "But this is a new era, a new chapter.

"It would be disrespectful to say: 'Well, that's gone and we'll just pick it up.' We've got new staff, new structures, new people.

"Lots of things went and you have to try to build it up again. But, in the meantime, you've still got Chelsea, you've still got the demands and the expectations."