Graham Potter makes telling Chelsea transfer admission as 'fans misunderstand'

Graham Potter has made a telling transfer admission about Chelsea star Moises Caicedo after claiming fans ‘often misunderstand’ the situations surrounding players at a new club.

Potter won’t be remembered fondly at Stamford Bridge having lasted less than seven months in his post.

The Englishman was ushered in as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement at the beginning of what was meant to be a new era under Todd Boehly and co.

Instead, having won just 12 of his first 31 games in charge, Chelsea’s hierarchy pulled the plug on Potter, who is yet to return to the managerial scene.

His stint at Chelsea came after a successful spell with Brighton, where Potter was praised for his development of young talent, namely Caicedo.

Much like Potter, Caicedo would find himself at Stamford Bridge, sealing a British record transfer in the summer following his former manager’s departure.

With expectations high on the back of his £115million move, Caicedo underwhelmed during his first season at the club and has only just started to look like value for the nine-figure transfer fee.

On the Ecuadorian’s struggles to begin with, Potter wrote in his BBC Sport column: “There is sometimes an expectation that you sign players and they are going to hit the ground running, and be some kind of instant solution to whatever problem you have got.

“What people often misunderstand is that you have been watching a player who is playing a certain way, and functioning well in a well-functioning team.

“When you put him in a different situation, and in a team that is not functioning in the same way, you don’t get the same player – temporarily, anyway. They just need some help and support to get back to that point.”

Caicedo is one of several players who worked under Potter at Brighton to have made the move to west London in recent years, with Marc Cucurella being another.

Potter added: “You have to understand the context of the club he went to, because it is fair to say Chelsea were in a period of transition for a couple of years, including the time I was there as manager.

“It was probably similar for Marc Cucurella, who also moved from Brighton to Chelsea in 2022. All of a sudden you are at a new club, with new team-mates and a new context. If the team is not doing well, that makes it even harder.”

“It is difficult for all players – not just young ones – and, just like he did when he first came to England, Moises had to adapt.”

Potter is still on the lookout for his next job having revealed last month he sees himself working more in the club game instead of an international manager.