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Chelsea are a long way from being a cohesive team despite the wealth of talent at manager Graham Potter’s disposal at the moment.
The Blues went all out in the January transfer window and signed all their targets in an outlay that was in the region of over £300 million. Since the transfer window closed, though, Chelsea are yet to win a game, having drawn in successive Premier League games against Liverpool, Fulham and West Ham United.
These results have left Potter’s side languishing in ninth position in the league table and with a goal difference of just one. The bigger concern, though, lies with the performance of the new signings.
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If Chelsea are going to turn things around and salvage their season, they need all their new signings to rise to the occasion and begin making an impact.
Felix and Fernandez look like shoo-ins at Chelsea
So far, only three of Chelsea’s January signings have slotted in seamlessly. Enzo Fernandez has put in a shift in the two games he’s played against Fulham and West Ham and is already becoming the Blues’ go-to man in midfield.
The same can be said for Joao Felix who, despite getting sent off on his debut, has been a breath of fresh air in the Blues’ attack since arriving on loan from Atletico Madrid. At the back, Benoit Badiashile has formed a formidable partnership with Thiago Silva, with the pair keeping three clean sheets in four games thus far.
Fernandez, Felix and Badiashile seem like shoo-ins at Chelsea and haven’t required any bedding-in period. However, the situation is completely different for the other January signings, who're yet to hit the ground running.
Mudryk and Madueke’s struggles show they might need more time
Chelsea went to great lengths to sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk and even had to hijack the move from London rivals Arsenal.
However, the 22-year-old has struggled since joining the Blues. He had a lively cameo on his debut against Liverpool but was a pale shadow of himself when he was handed a start against Fulham.
Mudryk had another poor outing in Chelsea’s draw at West Ham on Saturday (February 11) and was hooked off in the 67th minute. Like the Ukrainian, Noni Madueke has also struggled to make an impact.
The former PSV star was expected to make the right-wing position his own, but he’s rarely dribbled past anyone or created any decent chances in the games he has played so far.
It’s understandable that not all players are able to adapt to new teams and surroundings very quickly, and Mudryk and Madueke might need a bit more time to settle in at Chelsea.
The duo are certainly very talented and showed their quality at their former clubs. The Premier League, though, is a bigger and tougher stage, and not many players are able to hack it in the English top flight.
It doesn’t help that the Blues are enduring a poor run of form, but patience will be key to unlocking the talents of Madueke and Mudryk. The pair, unlike Fernandez and Felix, are finding it difficult to adjust to the speed and physicality of the Premier League.
