Chelsea squad swells to 50 players amid spending spree
Chelsea’s roster is growing as the club continues to buy new players in the summer transfer period.
The Blues have made a plethora of deals since co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali entered the fray in 2022.
With the Americans in charge, the West London side spent about $688 million on revamping the roster in the first year alone.
They then followed this up by shelling out more than $500 million on additional players during the 2023/24 season.
Despite this spending spree, Chelsea continues to add to their squad this summer. Chelsea have already spent $309 million in the market since June 14th.
This figure, however, includes three deals that the club has not officially confirmed. Pedro Neto, Samu Omorodion, and Mike Penders are all expected to soon join Chelsea though. The trio is set to cost the club about $135 million.
Club forces trio to train with youngsters as senior squad bloats
The ongoing splurge has now bloated Chelsea’s squad to over 50 total players.
While some of these players will either be on loan for the 2024/25 campaign or soon sold, the situation is a bit of a mess for the club.
For instance, every Premier League team must submit a 25-man squad immediately after the transfer window closes.
Eight players in this official top flight roster also have to be considered homegrown players.
This stipulation refers to players that have spent three years at an English club’s academy before the age of 21.
Premier League sides can also include as many U21 players as they like in addition to the 25-man squad. Chelsea currently has multiple youngsters who can fit into this category.
Nevertheless, Chelsea will want to offload several players before the end of the month to help decrease this inflated squad. Three of these senior players are almost certain to be Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, and Trevoh Chalobah.
Recent reports claim that all three stars are currently training with the club’s youth team. The latter defender has also apparently been barred from Chelsea’s first-team facilities as well. Conor Gallagher, set for a switch to Atletico Madrid, recently endured a similar treatment from the club.
Chelsea has eased PSR worries by selling assets
The spending has made many question whether or not Chelsea will violate current profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Nevertheless, the Blues have, so far, avoided any issues with the law by generating extra funds. In fact, the club has made over $400 million in player sales since the summer of 2023. This figure is also set to grow in the coming weeks.
Chelsea also recently sold two hotels combined to value around $98 million as well.
This chunk of change helped the team’s potential PSR problems. The deals, however, have been criticized as the buildings were effectively sold to companies under the control of the club’s ownership.
Chelsea’s complete roster (includes players currently on loan):
Goalkeepers (8) – Filip Jorgensen, Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Mike Penders (not confirmed), Gabriel Slonina, and Lucas Bergstrom.
Full-backs (7) – Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Renato Veiga, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, Caleb Wiley.
Center-backs (9) – Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Aaron Anselmino, Alfie Gilchrist, Bashir Humphreys.
Midfielders (15) – Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Omari Kellyman, Cesare Casadei, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tino Anjorin, Andrey Santos, Kendry Paez, Alex Matos, Jimi Tauriainen, Leo Castledine.
Wingers (9) – Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Pedro Neto (not confirmed), Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Estaevo Willian, Angelo Gabriel, Harvey Vale, Diego Moreira.
Strikers (8) – Romelu Lukaku, Nicolas Jackson, Samu Omorodion (not confirmed), David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington, Marc Guiu, Mason Burstow, Armando Broja.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire