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Chelsea have included all three of Joao Felix, Mykhalo Mudryk and record signing Enzo Fernandez in their Champions League squad for the rest of the season, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, among others, having been taken out of the team as a result.
Chelsea confirmed on Friday afternoon that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and January signings Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos, have all been left out of the 25-man squad.
Manager Graham Potter had to submit their squad by the end of Thursday, with UEFA releasing the full line-up on Friday.
Consequently, Felix, Mudryk and Fernandez are all available for Chelsea’s last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, plus any other games later in the tournament, should they progress.
Potter only had three spots available to add new signings to his European squad for the second half of the season, a difficult decision considering he had seven incoming players – Malo Gusto was loaned back to Lyon for the rest of the campaign.
Indeed, Article 46.01 of the Champions League regulations states: “As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition.”
Additions to the squad featured two no-brainers, admittedly: Mudryk and Fernandez. They cost over a combined £160m – without add-ons – and were always natural replacements in the squad.
FFT speculated that Felix, rather than Badiashile, would be the player to miss out on the squad, with clubs restricted to adding just three new signings to their roster for the remainder of the competition. Chelsea have looked stronger defensively with Badiashile playing in recent weeks, while Felix’s sending off against Fulham on his debut would have hampered his chances.
Both have been included, though, at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s expense. Despite the Gabon star featuring in all six group games earlier this season, Potter has now omitted him from the squad, alongside the decision not to include the inexperienced signings of Madueke, Fofana and Santos.
Had Jorginho not left for Arsenal, Potter would have had an even tougher decision to make. Despite nearly signing for PSG on loan on deadline day, Hakim Ziyech is also included in the squad.
