EXCL: Ben Jacobs Transfer Report

Inside reports on Enzo, Vlahovic, Rice, Felix, Caicedo, Zaha, Badiashile, Pulisic, Ziyech, Kante, Jorginho, and whether Potter is under pressure

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope it brings you great happiness, success and, of course, Champions League football for Chelsea!

I am delighted to be writing for Si & Dan as well as appearing on the podcast. It's been a pleasure coming on in the past, although I am still waiting for my much-promised hat-trick ball! I really enjoy engaging with Chelsea fans and I hope I can offer some insight over the course of the January window. Feel free to hit me up with any questions.

On Chelsea’s current form and any Graham Potter pressure

When Graham Potter moved to Chelsea he was told the board backed him to help deliver a long-term vision. Part of the appeal of leaving Brighton was to join an ambitious project with patient owners. Every manager is judged by results, but the key question is whether the results are more a byproduct of the squad (and injuries, too), plus the impact of a very uncertain 2022, or due to the wrong choice of manager.

Potter hasn't even had a transfer window and deserves time, something he was promised when joining, so it would be very harsh and unwise to make a knee-jerk change right now. This is not what the board wants.