Chelsea face race to cut 41-man squad before transfer window closes

Chelsea have 25 days to reduce their first-team squad from 41 players to the 25-man limit before the transfer window closes and the new season begins.

The club have already seen Alejandro Garnacho, Andrey Santos, Marc Cucurella and Tyrique George leave, but those departures have not resolved the problem. Chelsea are still expected to sell 11 players during the remaining 25 days of the transfer window.

According to Football London, Chelsea have prepared a list of players who are available to leave and who have not been involved in first-team training under new manager Xabi Alonso. The group includes Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Caleb Wiley, David Datro Fofana and Marc Guiu, all of whom are understood to be outside the manager’s plans for the 2026-27 season.

Chelsea have set a £25m asking price for Disasi, with Crystal Palace and West Ham interested in the defender. The club are seeking the same fee for Marc Guiu, while Badiashile has been valued at about £30m despite having only one year remaining on his contract.

The list of possible departures is not limited to those five players. Liam Delap’s future has also become uncertain following the arrival of Danny Welbeck, while Emmanuel Emegha and Nicolas Jackson are among the other forwards whose positions are under consideration.

Chelsea are demanding £65m for Jackson, who joined the club from Villarreal in 2023. The club could also consider offers for Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto. Chelsea hope to raise close to £200m from the sales of Fernandez and Gusto together.

The scale of the task means Chelsea are attempting to reshape their squad while also completing preparations for the new campaign. Their pre-season schedule began with a 6-4 victory over Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers.

They then faced Tottenham Hotspur, losing 2-1, before suffering another defeat against Juventus, who won 1-0.

Chelsea will play AC Milan on Saturday at 15:00 Cairo time before completing their pre-season programme against Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta’zim on Sunday, 9 August.

The London club finished last season 10th in the Premier League with 52 points. They begin the new campaign against Fulham on Monday, 24 August, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 Cairo time.

With the squad currently standing at 41 players, Chelsea must now balance the need to generate transfer income with the requirement to meet the competition’s registration limit. The club’s priority is to complete a substantial number of departures before the transfer deadline in 25 days.