Graham Potter fears his training sessions at Chelsea are being undermined by having too many players

Potter fears his training sessions at Chelsea are being undermined by having too many players to work with. 

Chelsea currently have a first-team squad of 31 following an extraordinary January transfer window which saw the owners spend £323million on eight new players, with only Jorginho leaving Stamford Bridge, although new signings Andrey Santos and Malo Gusto have not been registered to play this season.

Potter has admitted that maintaining squad morale is proving a challenge because 'most players want to play', and after a month of working with the larger group there are now concerns that the bloated numbers are affecting work on the training pitch.

Chelsea lost at Tottenham on Sunday to make it two wins in their last 15 league matches - and for the first time club insiders sense a change of mood towards Potter.

At Brighton, Swansea and Ostersunds, Potter developed a reputation as a hands-on coach who worked rigorously on patterns of play and team shape in training, but that approach is proving challenging at Chelsea as there are so many players to accommodate.

Instead of his preferred method of 11 v 11 training matches, Potter has been forced to leave several hanging around or working in a smaller group elsewhere until they are required. As a result Potter has struggled to maintain continuity during training sessions, never mind matches. The manager made six changes on Sunday and then slumped to a third successive defeat. 

Chelsea have spent £553m on 17 new players since the Boehly/Clearlake Capital takeover last summer, though Potter only replaced Thomas Tuchel after the summer window.

While Potter was consulted and gave the green light to the most recent signings, he hoped that more fringe players would be offloaded, and even told the club's website that a 30-man squad would be 'a problem'.

Potter has been able to accommodate all Chelsea's new players in his 25-man Premier League squad, as those aged 22 or under are registered separately, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana were omitted from their Champions League squad.

'There are challenges when you've got that many players,' Potter said earlier this month. 'There are challenges in terms of what role they play because most players want to play. They want to play, be on the pitch and help the team. When they are not, it is a challenge for lots of reasons at this club.

'When you go through a period of transition and the steps we've gone through then there are going to be periods when it is going to be tougher than you ideally want – it's not optimal.

'I am not complaining about it and I have to do my best to support and manage the club. Step by step I want to put the team in a better place than when I arrived.'