Chelsea have a big job on their hands as the Blues look to bounce back from their worst Premier League campaign.
The Blues have spent close to £700m since Todd Boehly’s takeover at Stamford Bridge one year ago. In that time, 20 new players have arrived, though not, to this point, to the club’s benefit.
Indeed, despite the spendthrift policy employed by Chelsea, the club recorded their lowest-ever points tally in the season just finished. That saw the Blues finish in a worryingly-low 12th place, some 45 points adrift of champions Manchester City and just 10 points clear of the drop zone.
That leaves newly-appointed manager Pochettino with a huge job on his hands. And he looks to have put his own stamp on the Chelsea squad, with Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Angelo Gabriel, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Axel Disasi arriving through the door as summer recruits as of yet.
👕Chelsea 2023-24 kits
Due to the sheer bloated nature of their squad – exits were just as inevitable as new arrivals. As such, loads of senior players have been sold by Chelsea as they look to lighten up their wage bill and general squad size, partly down to Financial Fair Play restriction.
The mass exodus could result in players’ donning very different squad numbers in comparison to last season. Worry not! GOAL will be your go-to source for all official squad number updates ahead of the new season.
Chelsea squad numbers
N’golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy are just some of the important players to have left Stamford Bridge this summer. Such an extensive exodus means Chelsea now have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to giving new signings lower squad numbers.
Interestingly, new signings such as Nkunku and Jackson were assigned rather unusual squad numbers: 43 and 45, respectively. But, Chelsea have duly announced those squad numbers were only for the US tour and they don’t reflect the squad numbers for the 2023/24 season, which will be announced in due course ahead of the new season.
| No. | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kepa Arrizabalaga | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Benoit Badiashile | Defender |
| 5 | Enzo Fernandez | Midfielder |
| 6 | Thiago Silva | Midfielder |
| 13 | Marcus Bettinelli | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | Trevoh Chalobah | Defender |
| 15 | Mykhailo Mudryk | Forward |
| 17 | Raheem Sterling | Forward |
| 18 | Armando Broja | Forward |
| 21 | Ben Chilwell | Defender |
| 23 | Conor Gallagher | Midfielder |
| 24 | Reece James | Defender |
| 30 | Carney Chukwuemeka | Midfielder |
| 31 | Noni Madueke | Forward |
| 32 | Marc Cucurella | Defender |
| 33 | Wesley Fofana | Defender |
| 36 | Gabriel Slonina | Goalkeeper |
Players without official squad numbers: Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto, Malang Sarr, Lewis Hall, Andrey Santos, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nicolas Jackson, Romelu Lukaku, Diego Moreira, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Bashir Humphreys, Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, Lesley Ugochukwu.
