Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has made a bold claim that Graham Potter did not sanction Chelsea’s stunning transfer for Mykhailo Mudryk in the January window.
Potter has faced mounting pressure at Stamford Bridge after replacing Thomas Tuchel, with Chelsea 14 points adrift from the Premier League top four.
Chelsea are winless in their last six matches across all competitions, with the Blues suffering three consecutive defeats under Potter in recent weeks.
Borussia Dortmund inflicted a 1-0 defeat in the first-leg round-of-16 Champions League tie before Southampton caused a stunning 1-0 upset against Chelsea.
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Potter’s woes continued after London rivals Spurs beat Chelsea 2-0 in their Premier League clash on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chelsea co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly opened the club’s war chest and embarked on a lavish spending spree in the January transfer window.
The Blues hijacked Arsenal’s move for ex-Shakhtar Donetsk star Mudryk in a deal worth £88.5m, as well as breaking the British record transfer to land Enzo Fernandez.
Mudryk made an immediate first impression on Chelsea fans with his stunning second-half cameo against Liverpool, but he started on the bench against Spurs.
Speaking after Tottenham’s win, Merson suggested that the 22-year-old Ukrainian winger is “not Potter’s player” after he failed to make the Chelsea starting XI.
“At Tottenham, Chelsea did not look like scoring a goal in a year of Sundays,” he wrote for Sky Sports.
“Mykhailo Mudryk is an £88m signing sitting on the bench, it tells you he’s not Potter’s player.
“If he was his player and if Potter would have gone to the board and said he needed Mudryk, he would have to play him.”
Merson added that Chelsea’s struggles this season are the “worst” he has seen in more than two decades after highlighting their record in their last 16 matches.
However, the Arsenal hero believes that Potter still deserves a “chance” to prove himself at Chelsea, despite the club’s poor run of form under him this season.
“When Chelsea lost 1-0 at Dortmund, I thought they would definitely beat them in the second leg. Since then, I do not see how they will score two goals in a match,” Merson said.
“They never looked like scoring at Spurs. I could have played for Chelsea on Sunday when they had the ball because it was so slow -- and I’m 54!
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“I can’t run around anymore but I can pass the ball, and I could have played in the team. It was slow, sideways, backwards, I can play like that at my age.
“Chelsea’s biggest game is Tottenham and it was lacklustre. They could still be playing now and they would not have scored. I cannot remember getting excited once in the game by them.
“Chelsea beat Tottenham four out of four times last season, twice in the cups, twice in the league and that was when they had Heung-Min Son playing on fire. Now he’s coming off the bench and they still cannot get a result.
“I like Graham Potter, they should give him a chance, but one goal in six games, one win in 11, two wins in 16. That is absolutely a no-go. It’s extraordinary.
“It’s the worst I have seen at Chelsea in over 20 years.”
Topics: Mykhailo Mudryk, Paul Merson, Graham Potter, Chelsea, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz