Chelsea boss Graham Potter will find out tonight whether he made the right decision in leaving Benoit Badiashile out of his Champions League squad following the club’s continued spending spree in January. The signing of Enzo Fernandez on deadline day saw Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly reach £600million.
There were eight new arrivals at Stamford Bridge in January, although Malo Gusto remained at Lyon on loan until the end of the season while Andrey Santos is waiting for a work permit. But the large number of signings also created a problem for Potter looking ahead to the Champions League.
UEFA rules state that only three new players can be registered for the Champions League knockout stages. It meant that Potter had to choose from Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Noni Madueke to take up the three spots.
The former Brighton boss ultimately chose Fernandez, Felix and Mudryk for his Champions League squad, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was also axed having played in the group stages. Aubameyang’s omission was to allow for Potter to use up the three available slots for new signings.
Chelsea used 24 players in the group stages with Jorginho the only one to leave in January, meaning one more player had to be left out of the 25-man squad. Fernandez, Mudryk and Felix have already established themselves as regulars since joining Chelsea.
The Argentina international caught the eye in his debut against Fulham earlier this month while both Mudryk and Felix have added another dimension to Chelsea’s attack. But Chelsea have looked far more solid at the back since Badiashile’s arrival with the young Frenchman establishing himself as the best partner to Thiago Silva.
Badiashile helped Chelsea keep three clean sheets in his first three games before the 1-1 draw with West Ham last time out. The 21-year-old offers more balance to Chelsea’s back line as a left-footed defender and he’s quickly slotted into Potter’s system.
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But Potter will now have to revert back to a different defensive unit for tonight’s Champions League clash against Dortmund. Both Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana are doubts for the match, although the latter has taken part in full training and closing in on a return from his long injury lay-off.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah or Reece James may well be needed to fill in at the centre of defence if neither Koulibaly or Fofana are deemed fit enough to start. It’s a headache Potter may well have done without, but is a result of the mass signings made in January.
Only time will tell if Potter made the right call in leaving the in-form Badiashile out of the Champions League squad.
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