Who will exit Chelsea? How Blues could cut 41-man squad
With 25 days until the transfer window closes, Chelsea will be working hard to cut their 41-man senior squad. But who could be heading out?
Chelsea finds itself with a large squad of 41 senior players, only 25 days left in the transfer window to reduce the roster. With no European football this season, manager Xabi Alonso wants to slash the team size to improve squad harmony. The club can register as many players as they like, but Alonso knows having inactive players harms team cohesion.
To achieve a more manageable 25 senior players, Chelsea must offload 16 players by early September. The Blues have faced similar issues before, like Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi last season, a practice now outlawed by FIFA. The club is also bound by a UEFA settlement agreement for three more seasons, but UEFA acknowledges their financial efforts.
While Chelsea can effectively register as many players as they wish, Alonso aims to drastically reduce the squad. The club recently had 21 substitutes for their 1-0 defeat by Juventus in Hong Kong, with just five academy players. The club faces AC Milan in Indonesia on Saturday, followed by Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta'zim on Sunday, and likely field two different XIs.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport Football's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
