- Chelsea spent £320m in January
- £600m outlay over last two windows
- But couldn't score vs Fulham on Friday
WHAT HAPPENED? Chelsea spent a massive sum of money across the January and summer transfer windows on up-and-coming players such as Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk, but they have so far failed to remedy their goalscoring problems despite their £600m outlay. Their lack of an out-and-out No.9 was highlighted once again following the goalless draw with Fulham on Friday night - a game in which Kai Havertz was profligate, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out altogether.
However, Potter argues that Lukaku’s mightily underwhelming performances after returning from Inter in 2021 should serve as a warning that splurging on a striker wouldn’t necessarily guarantee an improvement in attack.
WHAT THEY SAID: “I think we need to improve as a team. If you look back 18 months, from the outside Chelsea wasn’t scoring and they thought they’d spend close to £100 million on a centre-forward [Lukaku] and that would fix all their problems, and it didn’t," he said. “You have to attack better as a team and that’s our challenge - that’s what we need to do.”
Asked how long he thought it might take for his raft of new arrivals to gel, Potter added: “I’d be lying if I could say I could give you a timescale on it. Put it this way, if I could get a month for every time I’ve been asked that question, I’d be here for five years [laughs].”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: After a good start upon his return to Stamford Bridge in 2021-22, the goals eventually ran dry for Lukaku before he shot himself in the foot with a now-infamous interview with Italian media in which he questioned then-manager Thomas Tuchel’s tactics - a faux pas he never really recovered from when combined with his poor form in front of goal.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? The Blues now have another week off before another London derby, this time away to West Ham on February 11.