Enzo Fernandez signed for Chelsea from Benfica
Enzo Fernandez, the World Cup champion, was purchased by Chelsea. His performances...
Enzo Fernandez could make his debut against Fulham on Friday
Graham Potter, manager of Chelsea, says he is looking forward to the task of making the most of a bloated roster after the Blues broke spending records in the January transfer window.
Enzo Fernandez, a World Cup champion, could make his debut on Friday against Fulham after moving from Benfica for a British-record 121 million euros ($132 million, £107 million).
Mykhailo Mudryk of Ukraine might also make his Stamford Bridge debut after coming from Shakhtar Donetsk for a possible 100 million euro transfer price.
Chelsea spent more than £500 million in their first season under the new ownership after adding a total of eight players in January.
Despite the expenditure, Chelsea is now ranked 10th in the Premier League and was eliminated by Manchester City from both domestic cups.
If Potter’s team were to close the gap on the top four, they must make up a 10-point deficit.
And the former Brighton manager has a difficult task ahead of him because he can’t sign all the newcomers in time for this season’s Champions League’s later stages.
“It’s exciting,” said Potter, who only arrived at the club in September.
“It’s a test for me of course and for the staff and everybody but it’s an exciting one. We’ve got a lot of really good players.
“We have to create an environment where there’s healthy competition and they can push each other and at the same time understand that there’s going to be frustration at times because only 11 can play.
“But we’ve got a lot of important games and we need to improve our results so it’s about playing, supporting the team and being ready to play.”
Suddenly, Potter has a wide range of choices available to him as Chelsea’s extensive injury list starts to shrink.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, and Reece James are once again available for selection.
“There is a youthful dynamic and you can see the type of player we’ve tried to sign. We are trying to build something for now and the future,” Potter said, referring to Chelsea’s much-criticised transfer policy.
“We’ve had a pretty unprecedented injury situation, lots of things have happened. We’ve learnt a lot and we can attack the second half of the season.”
On the final day of the deadline on Tuesday, Argentina’s Fernandez was signed with only a few seconds to spare after drawn-out negotiations with Benfica.
The transfer of Hakim Ziyech to Paris Saint-Germain on loan fell through because the paperwork was not finished in time, so not all of Chelsea’s transaction was concluded.
“I’m the head coach so I don’t get too involved in the nitty gritty of deadline day,” said Potter.
“I’ve been involved too long to know that there are some things you can’t control and I couldn’t do anything at that point to change things. I found out that we had signed Enzo when it was all done and I’m very pleased, because he is a fantastic player.”
Catch all the Sports News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News
Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Follow us on Google News.