Graham Potter’s Chelsea problems: No strikers, injuries, top-four pressure, creators in midfield… | Football News

After another disappointing Chelsea display in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest left the Blues eighth in the Premier League, Sky Sports pundits assess the problems facing boss Graham Potter.

The main problem, says Graeme Souness, is the lack of strikers.

Chelsea sold Timo Werner and loaned Romelu Lukaku in the summer, and while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined in the summer along with wide forward Raheem Sterling, and January signing David Datro Fofana watched at the City Ground, the Premier League’s top scorer was Sterling and Kai Havertz only four goals.

“They don’t cover themselves in glory, Lukaku and Werner, but is the team better without those two? Is there more of a goal threat without those two?” asked Souness.

“If you look at the big football clubs and the decision makers, at the beginning, when this new consortium took over, Petr Cech, Marina Granovskaia, and Thomas Tuchel all left the club, and Todd Boehly announced he was the new director of football. term.

“When you’ve lost two strikers and you go out and spend £270m+ on a defender, normally, where is the thought of football? Of course your priority is to find a striker from somewhere.

“I think Graham Potter needs help. I hope he sits down and he’s part of the conversation. ‘What do you need?’

“The squad is not equipped to win big football games in a demanding league because they don’t have strikers. City have a +28 goal difference, Arsenal +26, Chelsea +2. The stats just tell you where they need help.”

However, former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink doesn’t feel the problem is too easy, despite the club scoring just 12 goals in Potter’s 10 Premier League games.

He also pointed to injury problems in the squad – but warned there is still huge pressure on his side to finish in the Champions League qualifying places.

“I don’t think this is the only problem,” he said of the team needing a No. 9. “It’s not just the strikers who score goals, it’s also the midfielders who score goals.

“The problem is not the number 9, but some positions. Midfielders are not scoring goals, not creating enough chances.

“I think they are very far from the top four. Yes, they are missing some important players. Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell.

“He suffered a lot, you have to give him time, if you want to change him [manager] in the middle of the season, and all this is happening, you have to give more time to the mushroom of this team.

“But Chelsea couldn’t get out of the Champions League two years in a row. It looks like this year they will get out of the Champions League… but they need time.”

There have been 14 managers at Chelsea during the 19-year reign of former owner Roman Abramovich and Jamie Redknapp suggests the Russian may not be surprised by the early results of the Potter era.

However, with the club spending heavily on young players in the summer, and experienced personnel coming out of contract, Redknapp said it made sense for Chelsea to rely on Potter – who has signed a long-term deal – to manage the transition. and team development.

“They’ve had 10 Premier League games and won four, lost three. When you’re in the Abramovich era, you’re under a lot of pressure,” Redknapp said.

“There will be big changes in the next year or so, Jorginho is out of contract, Kante whether he comes in or not is still debatable, there will be a lot of changes.

“They need time – there’s no point in bringing in these players and not giving them time.”