Chelsea boss Potter must address four glaring issues vs Dinamo Zagreb

Replacing Kante

In all honesty, there is no replacing a player of N’Golo Kante’s unique abilities and attributes; he is unique, something recognised by Potter and his predecessor Thomas Tuchel. But with a midfield burgeoning with talent, from Ruben Loftus-Cheek to Conor Gallagher, Potter must be able to find the solution.

Gallagher, Jorginho and Kovacic proved to be a menacing trio to face when they secured a 2-1 win in Austria last week and not many clubs in the Premier League would fancy their chances against players with their work rate.

It’s often said that Kante does the job of two players and even three on occasion. And it seems like Potter may need the trio to dig in to provide the energy that has been sapped from the team after Kante’s hamstring injury.

Improving Cucurella

Brighton will be extremely pleased to have made a £44m profit on a player who belonged to them for only 12 months, and especially so now that the Spaniard has struggled at Chelsea after forcing through his move to Stamford Bridge.

The wing-back has been used in all different positions on the left side of the pitch but to little effect. He was subbed off in a tactical switch against Manchester United and Chelsea looked far more balanced with him off the pitch. Likewise, Marc Cucurella’s display against his former club Brighton was somewhat disastrous as he was pulled around the pitch by Solly March.

Cucurella was meant to be a flexible full-back, capable of slotting into the back three when required. But right now, there are some questioning whether he deserves a place in Potter’s team, given his alarming dip in form.