Five league games without a win
Chelsea played five games in a row in the Premier League before the World Cup break, on Tuesday the Blues, who had slipped to 8th place before Boxing Day, will face Bournemouth (from 6:30 p.m. in the live ticker TM). Despite the recent negative streak, coach Graham Potter, who took over the job on the sidelines from Thomas Tuchel in September, has confirmed he is sure of the support of the club’s management – the 47-year-old is now refraining from to make improvements in the winter transfer market.
No club in the world had invested more money in new players this summer than the Londoners. €282m for 8 additions, including calibers like Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling or Marc Cucurella, was booked for third place last year. Potter, who has always splashed the cash in the winter on new players at Brighton during his tenure between 2019 and 2022, now wants to make hot cakes after the club’s record summer.
I would say that historically the January window is not the easiest solution to find, » the coach told Sky Sports TV. « From my perspective, the summer has been a period extreme and I don’t want to take drastic measures in this context ». In his eyes, the third most valuable team in the Premier League behind Liverpool and Manchester City « did not work as well as I would have liked », but he still has confidence in the quality of his team. « A head coach’s job is to focus on those who are here and make them better, » explained the Englishman and at the same time attested that his players « certainly had room for improvement ».
Highest transfer spend in a summer: Only Real ahead of Chelsea
12PSG | 2018/19 | Additions: 5 | Expenditure: 222 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -113.5 million euros
11 FC Barcelona | 2017/18 | Additions: 5 | Expenses: 232.7 million euros
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Transfer balance: -6.7 million euros
9 Manchester United | 2022/23 | Additions: 5 | Expenditure: 238 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -226.5 million euros
9PSG | 2017/18 | Additions: 4 | Expenditure: 238 million euros
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Transfer balance: -168 million euros
8 Chelsea | Season 2020/21 | Additions: 7 | Expenditure: 247.2 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -190.7 million euros
7 Atletico Madrid | 2019/20 | Additions: 9 | Expenditure: 247.4 million euros
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Transfer balance: +61.1 million euros
6 Manchester City | 2017/18 | Additions: 8 | Expenditure: 248.5 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -157.1 million euros
5 Real Madrid | 2009/10 | Additions: 8 | Expenditure: 258.5 million euros
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Transfer balance: -170 million euros
4 Juventus | 2018/19 | Additions: 8 | Expenses: 259.1 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -166.5 million euros
3 FC Barcelona | 2019/20 | Additions: 6 | Expenditure: 273.5 million euros
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Balance of transfers: -123.1 million euros
2 Chelsea | 2022/23 | Additions: 8 | Expenditure: 282 million euros
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Transfer balance: -227.2 million euros | Plus around 22 million euros for coach Graham Potter
1 Real Madrid | 2019/20 | Additions: 8 | Expenditure: 325.5 million euros
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Transfer balance: -190 million euros
Surprisingly to many, Potter took over from ousted Tuchel in September, who led Chelsea to Champions League victory for the second time in club history in 2021. According to new owner Todd Boehly, the style of play at the coach was too results-oriented and too little show-heavy. At the time of the sacking, the Blues were sixth in the Premier League table, having won three of the next eight games under Graham Potter.
Despite the « results crisis » in the league, Potter is not afraid of his reputation with club bosses. On the contrary, discussions with co-owner Behdad Eghbali during the World Cup break made him « even more confident », the English « Times » quoted him on Boxing Day: « I am even more sure of myself and I am even more aware of the support I have now than I was three months before taking the job. » He « looks forward to the weeks, months and years to come. » The management of the club at Stamford Bridge knows just as him « where we are at the moment » and on « the challenges ahead ».
Foley, Boehly & Co.: Premier League club owners
Bournemouth AFC – Bill Foley (USA)
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Year of entry: 2022 | Info: Here you can see the clubs’ respective majority shareholders, who do not necessarily have to own 100% of the shares.
Chelsea FC – Todd Boehly (USA), Mark Walter (USA), Hansjörg Wyss (Switzerland)
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Year of entry: 2022
Newcastle United – Mohammed Bin Salman* (Saudi Arabia)
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Year of entry: 2021, as Chairman of the Public Investment Fund
Nottingham Forest – Vangelis Marinakis (Greece)
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Year of entry: 2017
Fulham FC – Shahid Khan (USA/Pakistan)
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Year of entry: 2013
Everton FC – Farhad Moshiri (Iran)
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Year of entry: 2016
Aston Villa – Wes Edens (USA) & Nassef Sawiris (Egypt)
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Year of entry: 2018
Arsenal – Stan Kroenke (USA)
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Year of entry: 2008
Liverpool FC – John Henry (USA)
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Year of entry: 2010
West Ham United – David Sullivan (Wales), David Gold (England), Daniel Kretinsky (Czech Republic)
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Year of entry: 2010, Kretinsky from 2021
Southampton FC – Dragan Solak (Serbia)
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Year joined: In 2022, Dragan Solak bought 80% of the club’s shares from Jisheng Gao (left) for £100million. Katharina Liebherr (right) still owns 20% of the shares.
Brentford FC – Matthew Benham (England)
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Year of entry: 2011
Brighton & Hove Albion – Tony Bloom (England)
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Year of entry: 2011
Crystal Palace – Steve Parish (England)
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Year of entry: 2011
Leeds United – Andrea Radrizzani (Italy)
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Year of entry: 2017
Leicester City – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (Thailand)
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Year of entry: 2019
Manchester City – Mansour Al Nahyan (UAE)
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Year of entry: 2008
Manchester United-Joel Glazer* (USA)
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*and the family
Year of entry: 2003
Tottenham Hotspur – Daniel Levy (England)
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Year of entry: 2000
Wolverhampton Wanderers – Guo Guangchang (China)
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Year of entry: 2016
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