GRAHAM POTTER 'TOLD CHELSEA'S BOARD ENZO FERNANDEZ WAS OVERPRICED'

• Graham Potter 'told the board Enzo Fernandez was overpriced at £106.8million'
• Chelsea played a British record fee to bring Fernandez to Chelsea from Benfica
• He also expressed his concern over the squad size, which has been problematic 

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter 'told the board Enzo Fernandez was overpriced at £106.8million' and insisted they 'were making too many signings'. 

The Premier League giants signed the Argentina international for a British record fee after agreeing a deal with Benfica late on deadline day. 

Chelsea's co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali - who sanctioned Jorginho's move to Arsenal - led negotiations for the World Cup winner with Benfica from London. 

They were desperate to secure Fernandez - who won the Young Player award as the World Cup in Qatar last year - and forked out a worrying amount. 

Potter felt Chelsea were paying an over the odds for Fernandez and expressed his concerns to the board - according to The Guardian. 

The former Chelsea manager was also frustrated by the number of players the club were bringing in as it caused rifts between the players. 

Chelsea's January business left them with a squad of over 30 players - giving Potter and his temporary replacement Frank Lampard a series of selection headaches. 

Chelsea have signed 12 senior players on permanent contracts since the Boehly-Clearlake takeover, while seven existing squad members have signed fresh terms.

Additionally, Chelsea have only sold one player. They agreed terms with Arsenal for Jorginho but failed to offload Hakim Ziyech to PSG as his deal fell through due to technical glitches. 

As a result, Potter and Lampard were forced to make some tough calls - having both benched players who were fit enough to play for the Premier League giants.

Those players are particularly annoyed given the Chelsea hierarchy had told them they would be 'key' to the 'exciting new Chelsea project' during negotiations.

Thiago Silva highlighted the issue by saying: 'We had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn't fit the size of the squad. 

'A positive point is that there are amazing players within the squad but in the other hand there is always players that are going to be unhappy.

'There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from 30 something. That's tough.

'Some can't make the squad. We signed eight in January. We need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.'

Potter was blamed for being indecisive during his tenure, but it was almost impossible to come up with a coherent plan after Chelsea's recent investments. 

Therefore, according to The Guardian, Boehly is wondering whether he should have given Potter more time in the role. 

Nevertheless, Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the club's new permanent manager. 

The Argentinian manager has signed an initial two-year deal that also includes a club option of an additional one year. 

Pochettino will start work on July 1 ahead of next season and bring with him his trusted backroom team members, Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, goalkeeper coach Toni Jimenez plus son and fitness coach Sebastiano Pochettino. 

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2023-05-30T11:16:47Z dg43tfdfdgfd