Chelsea's 41-man puzzle: who goes and who stays?

Chelsea are facing a familiar late-August problem. The club have 41 senior players on the books, the transfer window closes in 25 days and the squad still needs a serious trim. There is no European football at Stamford Bridge this season, and new head coach Xabi Alonso wants a leaner group. Chelsea finished 10th last season, a campaign in which Enzo Maresca left the club and Liam Rosenior was dismissed. The Premier League's 25-man squad rule is less of an issue than it sounds - under-21 and homegrown regulations cover most of the squad - but Alonso knows that carrying players who do not feature is a risk to squad harmony. To get down to a more manageable 25 senior players, Chelsea would need to move on 16 by the start of September. This is familiar territory for the club. In the past, including last season, Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi were left in a 'bomb squad', a practice that Fifa has since banned. That has made it even more important for Chelsea to find actual exits rather than isolate players. Had they qualified for Europe, they could have faced registration problems, as during their 2024-25 Conference League-winning campaign. They also remain bound by a Uefa settlement agreement for three more seasons, though Uefa has acknowledged that Chelsea have made efforts to improve their finances. Alonso's squad has already been reshaped by the arrivals of Morgan Rogers, Marco Palestra, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and Maxence Lacroix. Full-back Pep Chavarria is close to joining from Rayo Vallecano. The numbers, though, are still striking: on Wednesday, Chelsea named 21 substitutes for a 1-0 defeat by Juventus in Hong Kong, and only five were academy players. The Blues deliberately carried a large squad into the final part of their Asian tour. They play AC Milan in Indonesia on Saturday and Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta'zim on Sunday, with two different XIs expected. That is why the size of the group remains a concern, especially with Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill missing the Juventus game because of knocks from the previous friendly. Striker Emmanuel Emegha is still rehabilitating from a hamstring injury at the training ground. Five players are not even training with the first team: Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Marc Guiu, David Datro Fofana and Caleb Wiley. All of them are available for permanent or loan moves. Seven more are on holiday until next week after playing deep into the World Cup: Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, Rogers, Henderson, Lacroix, Valentin Barco and Malo Gusto. The exit business is already taking shape. Trevoh Chalobah is close to joining Como for £31m including add-ons, while goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is joining sister club Strasbourg on loan. In goal, Robert Sanchez looks set to remain first choice. Belgian prospect Mike Penders, 21, has arrived after an impressive loan at Strasbourg, and Teddy Sharman-Lowe is likely to be third choice. At full-back, club captain Reece James - who can also play in midfield - is joined on the right by Gusto and Palestra. Chelsea have put a £75m price tag on Gusto after Manchester City showed interest. On the left, Jorrel Hato is in place, and Chavarria's £16.3m move is close. Centre-back is the biggest headache. Chelsea have nine options there, and Alonso wants the group reduced to 'four or five'. Disasi and Badiashile are available for sale, while Mamadou Sarr is expected to leave on loan. That would leave new signing Lacroix competing with Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo. The situation of Argentina Under-20 international Aaron Anselmino remains unclear, though another loan appears likely after his spells with Borussia Dortmund and Strasbourg. In midfield, Chelsea have put a £120m price tag on Fernandez. The Argentina international is exploring his options, but the club would be happy to keep him. He is joined by key central midfielder Moises Caicedo, fit-again Romeo Lavia and new signing Valentin Barco.