Chelsea are now likely to see as many as 10 players leave the club without the chance of offering them a new contract come the end of the season.
The news comes in the wake of Roman Abramovich being the subject of sanctions from the UK Government after his relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin came under intense scrutiny.
The Blues owner has been named in the newest list of sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs living in the United Kingdom and as a result is currently unable to sell the club.
A government statement confirmed : "Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.
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"This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs.
"This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions.
"The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities."
This new license is expected to prevent Chelsea from signing any new players, as well as extending the contracts of those with deals that expire this summer.
Though the sanctions are only currently in place until May 30, if they were to be lifted on that date it would still give Chelsea minimal turnaround time to sort out the contracts that would expire just days later.
Mirror Football has analysed the 10 players on the books of Chelsea who see their respective deals expire in a mere matter of months.
Antonio Rudiger - the most established and highly sought after player on this list, the German has long been the subject of interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
With that being said, Chelsea were hopeful of agreeing a new deal and extending his stay given his status as one of the Premier League's best defenders.
Andreas Christensen - The Danish central defender was widely touted to leave Stamford Bridge anyway given the relentless rumours linking him with Barcelona.
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Saul Niguez - A loan signing from Atletico Madrid that has failed to live up to expectation for large parts of his stay.
However, the Spaniard has recently enjoyed a decent amount of game time and could have been one to roll the dice on with the option to buy clause inserted into his contract.
Cesar Azpilicueta - A club stalwart, Azpilicueta's immediate future was up in the air but it is widely believed Thomas Tuchel was keen to keep the Chelsea legend at Stamford Bridge.
It is now more likely that the defender returns to his home country of Spain to see out the last of his playing days in La Liga.
Charly Musonda Jr. - Brought to the club as a youth prospect in 2012, Musonda has barely featured given the staggering amount of injuries he has suffered.
The Belgian already confirmed in November of last year he would be leaving West London at the end of his current deal.
Thierno Ballo - Once a highly-rated under-23 talent, Ballo's career has nosedived in recent years after his loan spell with Rapid Wien was terminated and he subsequently returned to Chelsea this season.
Xavier Simons - The 19-year-old has already made his first-team debut when he started in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup against former youth side Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
George McEachran - Younger brother of fellow former Chelsea talent Josh, George's finest first-team hour came when he was part of the match-day squad for the 2019 Europa League final victory over Arsenal.
Sam McClelland - The teenager is in the rare position of already boasting a cap at international level with Northern Ireland but is yet to feature for the Chelsea first-team.
Josh Brooking - A central defender that has represented England at Under-16 level, Brooking will leave in the summer less than a year after receiving his scholarship.
