Cesc Fabregas has disagreed with Chelsea’s decision to sack Graham Potter but is hopeful that his permanent replacement, Mauricio Pochettino, can turn the club’s fortunes around. Todd Boehly made two changes in the Stamford Bridge dugout during the 2022/23 campaign with Thomas Tuchel and Potter being sacked within a season.
Frank Lampard returned to the club as caretaker boss for the final 11 fixtures of the campaign but only picked up one win in that time. Mauricio Pochettino is set to officially become manager on July 1 but his work has already begun ahead of the summer transfer window.
football.london understands the Argentine wants to sign a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and striker ahead of next season - with further additions depending on which players are sold this summer. Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante are all facing uncertain futures, along with the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Trevoh Chalobah, Hakim Ziyech, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy.
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Chelsea initially impressed under Potter but results and performances soon fell away and the 47-year-old was sacked in April after less than seven months in the job. The former Blues boss had differing opinions on some decisions that were made throughout the season as Boehly spent over £600million on new signings.
Despite Chelsea’s poor form under Potter, Fabregas disagreed with his dismissal and has accused the Stamford Bridge owners of panicking. "I understand that the top, top teams nowadays panic very quickly," the Spaniard told The Athletic.
"Like Chelsea, you are eighth and you make a change and now you are 14th. A panic change does not always guarantee you that you’ll get better.
"Sometimes it does, sometimes not. But if you really believe – I believed in (former Chelsea manager Graham) Potter.
"I know the results weren’t great but if you believe in him the way you say you believed in him… they had given him a five-year contract. Maybe give him some time. It’s proven with other coaches that it worked."
When asked about Pochettino's arrival at Chelsea, Fabregas added: "I’ve never worked with him, obviously I’ve heard of him. I’ve met him a couple of times on holiday in Ibiza.
"I’ve played against him obviously when he was at Spurs and we’ve chatted after matches. I think he seems like a very reasonable man, very calm, that gives a lot of confidence to younger players and has a good structure and has a staff that he trusts so much.
"I hope he’s the right man to bring back Chelsea to the position where they belong," he added. Pochettino will be hoping to trim down the squad and add quality additions to strengthen the spine of the team with the aim of returning as Premier League title challengers and qualifying for the Champions League.
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