FootyChatter.com

Chelsea are dominating talk of another transfer window under Todd Boehly as his Stamford Bridge overhaul shows no signs of abating. The Blues have splashed out more than £1billion on players since 2022 to create one of the most bloated squads in Premier League history. Such is the vast headcount that the club have been urged to stop recruiting to avoid expanding the training group's changing rooms. Chelsea were forced to exclude more than £500m worth of players from their matchday squad during their 2-0 defeat to Man City. That hasn't prevented the west Londoners from working on their tenth new arrival this summer alone, with Joao Felix set to sign. Chelsea have split up groups at their Cobham training complex to cope with the sheer array of options and sanctioned several loans. So that has left the question of how many players do the Blues actually employ? talk SPORT. com takes a look. .. Chelsea have a whopping 54 senior stars currently under contract. Eight of these players are out on loan in fairness to the club, but that still leaves 46 others reporting to Cobham for some form of training. In his explanation for Raheem Sterling's absence against City, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca wrongly claimed it was because he had 30 players. That was the number Chelsea revealed on their matchday programme squad on Sunday, but there were caveats. The Blues have 33 players listed under their senior ranks on their club website, but again that is 13 less than what they actually boast. Moises Caicedo - August 2023 - Brighton - £115m Enzo Fernandez - January 2023 - Benfica - £106. 8m Mykhailo Mudryk - January 2023 - Shakhtar Donetsk - £89m Wesley Fofana - August 2022 - Leicester - £70m Marc Cucurella - August 2022 - Brighton - £62m Romeo Lavia - August 2023 - Southampton - £58m Pedro Neto - August 2024 - Wolves - £54m Christopher Nkunku - June 2023 - RB Leipzig - £52m Raheem Sterling - July 2022 - Manchester City - £47. 5m Cole Palmer - August 2023 - Manchester City - £40m Axel Disasi - August 2023 - Monaco - £38. 8m Kalidou Koulibaly - July 2022 - Napoli - £33m Benoit Badiashile - January 2023 - Monaco - £34m Nicolas Jackson - June 2023 - Villarreal - £32m Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - July 2023 - Leicester - £30m Noni Madueke - January 2023 - PSV Eindhoven - £29m Malo Gusto - January 2023 - Lyon - £26. 3m Robert Sanchez - August 2023 - Brighton - £25m Lesley Ugochukwu - August 2023 - Rennes - £23. 1m Filip Jorgensen - July 2024 - Villarreal - £20. 7m Carney Chukwuemeka - August 2022 - Aston Villa - £20m Omari Kellyman - July 2024 - Aston Villa - £19m Andrey Santos - January 2023 - Vasca da Gama - £18m Devid Washington - August 2023 - Santos - £17. 2m Aaron Anselmino - July 2024 - Boca Juniors - £17m Djorde Petrovic - August 2023 - New England Revolution - £13. 6m Angelo - July 2023 - Santos - £12. 9m Cesare Casadei - August 2022 - Inter Milan - £12. 6m Renato Veiga - July 2024 - Basel - £12m Gabriel Slonina - August 2022 - Chicago Fire - £12m David Datro Fofana - January 2023 - Molde - £10. 6m Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - September 2022 - Barcelona - £10. 3m Caleb Wiley - July 2024 - Atlanta United - £8. 5m Marc Guiu - July 2024 - Barcelona - £5m Tosin Adarabioyo - July 2024 - Fulham - free Chelsea will have to submit a 25-man squad after the summer window officially slams shut on Friday, August 30. Eight of those players must be classed by the Premier League as homegrown - which, crucially, doesn't have to be of UK nationality. Instead, HGP criteria count as any player that has spent three years at any English club academy before turning 21. There is no limit on registering U21 stars, which covers eight players around the Chelsea first-team that don't have to be culled. This brings down the number from 46 to 38, with only 28 being picked for the club's recent preseason tour. That America stint didn't even feature any of their European Championship/Copa America stars nor Pedro Neto so work is definitely needed. Chelsea have also used up five of their six international loan spots to cope with the stockpiling of young talent. This puts more emphasis on non-homegrown players looking to leave, with obligations to buy still counting as a loan deal. Chelsea's smoke-and-mirror attempts to conceal their squad size largely boil down to players the club are desperate to get rid of. That includes big-money flops Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku, who have no future at the club but still remain under contract. Academy graduates that Chelsea are also keen to flog to stay within financial fair play rules have been given a marginally kinder fate. Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher, who have both been banished from first-team facilities, do at least have a spot on the website. Maresca admitted on the eve of the season that he had 15 players training separately, with 28 taking part in his sessions. Mike Penders is closing in on becoming Chelsea's tenth goalkeeper in a £17m move that will see him loaned back to parent club Genk. Academy goalkeepers Eddie Beach, Ted Curd, and Luke Campbell are all out on respective loans as well but are tied to youth deals. But as it stands, the current six still at Chelsea are. .. Chelsea moved to strengthen this department first this summer, with Tosin Adarabioyo arriving on a free transfer from Fulham. Three of their defensive ranks are out on loans already, with youngster Bashir Humphreys to move to Burnley with an obligation to buy. That still leaves ten current options to fit Maresca's back-four, with Chelsea hoping to trim that further with an exit for Ben Chilwell. Chelsea have hit Maresca's 30-man quota with just defenders and midfielders such is the depth of talent at his disposal. Only two of those are out on loans with Lesley Ugochukwu remaining in the Premier League, and Andrey Santos at sister club Strasbourg. Midfield is one of the most scrutinised areas, due to the £205m combined fee it took to sign Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. Gallagher, as mentioned, will headline the midfield exodus, but Chelsea still saw fit to splash £30m on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. In a regular squad, most of the following players would be broken down to be included either as a midfielder or a forward. But Chelsea can form an entire starting XI of players that are vying for the two wide attacking roles in Maresca's 4-3-3 formation. That's including £17. 5m Kendry Paez, and £56m Estevao Willian, who have both been omitted from this list as they don't formally join Chelsea until the summer of 2025. Once they do competition will become even fiercer, with few of the current options nowhere near exits at this time. Chelsea have at least managed to ship out Diego Moreira and Mason Burstow permanently to Strasbourg and Hull City respectively. Lukaku is all but certain to have left before the deadline, but Chelsea already have a new forward coming in with Felix's signing. Despite this, the leading line of attack is where the club will hope to free up as much space as possible. Only Nicolas Jackson can be guaranteed he will stay by September, with loan interest considered for Deivid Washington and Marc Guiu. The remaining two in David Datro Fofana and Armando Broja are both training away from the main group and are seeking transfers. This service is provided on talk SPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy.