Chelsea's January transfer deadline day was frantic at best as the Blues tried their best to shuffle their squad around to get the best balance they could heading into the latter half of the season. An exit was confirmed as Jorginho made the £12million move to rivals Arsenal as the end of his contract neared.
There was also promise of a big addition to the squad and by the closure of the window, the Blues finally got their man, That target was in the form of Enzo Fernandez, a 21-year-old midfielder that has plenty of ability as well as potential for the future, fitting the club's new philosophy perfectly.
However as one deadline passes, another creeps up on the Blues and with it comes difficult decisions that will have to be made. That new deadline is for their Champions League squad, with only a few weeks until the first round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund in the competition.
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As per the current rules on registering the squad, UEFA states: "As of the knockout round play-offs, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 2 February 2023 (24.00CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.
"Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League."
The current Chelsea Champions League squad is as follows: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Betinelli, Edouard Mendy; Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana; Jorginho*, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Denis Zakaria, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz.
B list: Charlie Webster, Lewis Hall, Armando Broja.
The rules state that the likes of Fernandez and Joao Felix can be registered for the club, despite playing in the previous rounds, however only three new additions can be made to the squad. It means that only a few of the numerous January incomings will be able to play and some may miss out.
There will also have to be a reduction to the squad as it always has to stay at 25 players. The removal of Jorginho following his exit simplifies things slightly, bringing the total to 23, however that means one player will still have to miss out from the current list above.
It gives Graham Potter a huge dilemma surrounding who he will have to pick from his new signings as well as an omission from his current squad.
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