If the argument from Chelsea is that this is all a long-term investment, this game against Fulham certainly made it feel like it. Over £300m worth of January investment still offered up another 0-0 draw, that tested attention levels more than Financial Fair Play regulations. Enzo Fernandez, who came straight into the starting XI after his British record deadline day signing, admittedly looked tidy. But £106m warrants more than tidy.
That is perhaps the most generous description of Graham Potter’s football right now. It is occasionally nice, and you can see a nascent idea taking shape, but it doesn’t exactly get you off your feet. It barely forces goalkeepers to dive, so few shots on target have Chelsea had. As with his Brighton, it still looks like Potter could do with a striker. That is all the more pointed given Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the same day left out of the Champions League squad, left out of the matchday squad, and now looks like his time at Chelsea will instead be very short-term.
