If Graham Potter has much time to plan ahead in his whirlwind first few months as Chelsea manager, one area will be pressing him the most.

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In terms of the squad he has inherited, the most obvious decision to make during the weeks off when players are on international duty will be how he sees the shape of his midfield progressing in the short and long term.

Potter used Jorginho as a deep base and Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount ahead of him as box-to-box No.8s in his first match in charge, which should not be taken as gospel that this will continue. Although the personnel remained the same, it was a setup not used specifically by Thomas Tuchel.
Potter won’t have much time to consider his options now that he’s been stripped of his first three choices. Conor Gallagher, who came on as a second-half substitute against RB Salzburg, will also be absent due to England Under-21 duty. N’Golo Kante is on the sidelines due to an ongoing injury that has already kept him out of five games.

Potter, who will have just over a month to get his team back into Premier League action before the winter World Cup takes centre stage, has a very short and defined period in which to decide how the midfield will look for the rest of the season and beyond.
Kante, Kovacic, Jorginho, and on-loan signing Denis Zakaria – who has yet to play a minute – are all under contract until July 2023. It’s not the best starting point for Potter, who doesn’t even have match footage of Zakaria to watch while making initial judgments at Chelsea.

The news that Barcelona is interested in signing Jorginho on a free contract if his contract is not renewed adds another layer of complication to the decision-making process. Not only is Kante extremely valuable, but he also appears in less than half of the matches. Jorginho brings clear benefits to Chelsea as a player, but he also has flaws that must be considered. How will Potter handle these at first? What does it portend for the future? And how will it be affected by the other options?

Potter is ultimately the only man who can answer these questions, but he is on a countdown that is moving even faster than expected. By the time Chelsea regroups after the World Cup, the January transfer window will have opened, and both Kante and Jorginho will be free to leave.

Potter doesn’t have much time to make key short and long-term decisions that will lay the groundwork for his own Chelsea future, while also assessing and deploying these players to get results now.

Football and one player who could benefit from it all.

Carney Chukwuemeka is making a name for himself in London after a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brighton. Potter has an option in the 18-year-old if he is willing to put his faith in such a young talent. If he does not, Chelsea’s midfield issues may worsen for longer as development will be slowed, and the England Under-19s international may be relied on if the Jorginho and Kante issues are not resolved quickly.