Premier League giants Chelsea, on Thursday evening, unveiled now ex-Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter as the club’s new manager.
Chelsea Football Club is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as our new Head Coach! 🤝
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 8, 2022
This of course came less than 48 hours on from the Blues opting to call time on their relationship with fan favourite Thomas Tuchel.
Potter, in turn, will be tasked with swiftly turning the form of a Chelsea outfit fresh off an altogether alarming opening to the campaign around, to guide the capital outfit back into the fight for the Premier League title.
What immediate concerns, though, will the English tactician need to prioritise?
Well, below, we have provided our take on precisely that.
📰 Table Of Contents
Defensive record
Priority no.1 in Potter’s in-tray in west London should, without question, come in the form of stabilising what has proven to be a surprisingly leaky backline over the early weeks of the campaign.
100 – Tonight was Thomas Tuchel’s 100th match in charge of Chelsea; in his first 50 games they only conceded 24 goals, while in his last 50 they have conceded 53 goals. Breakdown. pic.twitter.com/36VwODedGc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 6, 2022
The Blues’ woes at the back, though, do not come owing to a lack of quality amongst their ranks.
Star performers Reece James, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and more were added to by the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana over the course of the summer, meaning the platform is very much in place for the incoming Potter to build upon.
Once a solid base has been established once more, midfield and attack can be addressed in due course.
Mason Mount
One aspect of their side which those of a Chelsea persuasion are unlikely to have been overly concerned with heading into the new campaign was the form of Mason Mount.
The Cobham academy product was fresh off a term in 2021/22 which saw him continue to add to his reputation as one of the Blues’ most important players, with a haul of 13 goals and a hefty 16 assists across all competitions a testament to as much.
In turn, it has come as nothing short of a shock to see Mount’s form fall off a cliff over the course of the last couple of weeks.
The English international has been widely targeted by the Chelsea faithful as a key factor behind the club’s collective dip in form. This comes with Mount, across seven appearances to date, yet to get off the mark in either the goals or assists column.
New boss Potter, as a result, will no doubt view it as nothing short of a necessity to quickly get his midfield star back firing on all cylinders.
The centre-forward dilemma
Last up on our list of priorities for Chelsea’s new boss to tackle comes the situation up top.
Five of the Blues’ six Premier League outings to date this season have seen Kai Havertz act as the club’s attacking spearhead, supported by summer arrival Raheem Sterling.
This of course comes after the powers that be at Stamford Bridge opted to move on not only record signing Romelu Lukaku, but Timo Werner, too.
The results have thus far proven altogether underwhelming, though, with Chelsea having scraped together just eight goals across seven fixtures in all competitions.
Should Graham Potter opt for an immediate shake-up, then? Making use of the talents of recent addition Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a central role?
Or should Havertz continue in his ‘false 9′ role of sorts, afforded the opportunity to thrive in a more fluid attacking system far more suited to his unique talents?
Only time will tell, but the call made by Chelsea’s new headmaster could well prove to be the deciding factor in the trajectory of the club’s campaign.
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