Chelsea
have enjoyed a very fruitful January transfer window - but their winter
spending spree has presented the Blues with a Champions League registration
problem.
Chelsea are only allowed to register a maximum of three new players for the
knockout stages of the Champions League, before taking on Borussia Dortmund
in the last-16, starting on February 15.
The problem for Chelsea is that they signed eight new players in January.
Clubs have to inform UEFA of their desired squad changes by 11pm on
Thursday, February 2. This deadline cannot be extended. UEFA will publish
full list of ins and outs once they have been approved.
The three new registered players are allowed to have played for another club
in European competitions this season, so being cup-tied for the knockout
stages is not an option for any of the players.
All clubs are limited to a 25-man squad and Chelsea used 24 players in the
group stage, with only one of them - Jorginho - leaving the club in the
January transfer window.
Out of the eight new players Chelsea signed last month, Malo Gusto is
staying on loan at Lyon and Andrey Santos is waiting for a work permit.
That leaves Graham Potter with the dilemma of picking three players for his
Champions League squad from this list of six:
Enzo Fernandez
Mykhailo Mudryk
Joao Felix
Benoit Badiashile
David Datro Fofana
Noni Madueke
Meanwhile, all the new signings can be registered in Chelsea's Premier
League squad as there are no restrictions on how many changes teams can
make.
However, there is a 25-player limit, so some of the current Chelsea squad
could make way for the new arrivals. The Premier League's registration
deadline is also on Thursday.
The case for each Chelsea signing to be
involved
Enzo Fernandez
The most likely new player to be included is record signing Fernandez, who
arrived for £105m on Deadline Day. Putting it simply, you can't spend that
much money on a player not use him in the Champions League.
Just imagine the World Cup winner's face if new manager Graham Potter was to
tell him he can't play at Europe's top table just hours after arriving in
west London!
Meanwhile, the loss of Jorginho to Arsenal on the same day means Chelsea are
light on midfielders who can play in that deep role. Even with Ruben
Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic to choose from,
expect Fernandez to be registered.
Mykhailo Mudryk
The pressure of the Ukrainian winger's £88m price tag also puts pressure on
Potter to include him in the Champions League squad. In a brief debut cameo
against Liverpool, Mudryk showed that he belongs at the highest level of
football.
Meanwhile, the attacker featured for Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions
League group stages, scoring three times, so he is another player with a
strong chance of being selected by Chelsea.
Joao Felix
Here is where the dilemma kicks in. What do you do with Joao Felix?
With seven goals in 27 Champions League appearances, the Portuguese forward
brings enough experience to the table to make him a useful option to have in
the competition.
However there is no guarantee that Felix will be at Stamford Bridge next
season - so should his morale be prioritised over a fellow young signing who
will be there in years to come?
Furthermore, if Mudryk is registered - do Chelsea need another attacker in a
strike force that includes Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and
Kai Havertz?
That being said, the other side of the coin shows that Chelsea may only have
Felix for a short amount of time, so they might as well use him as much as
they can.
Benoit Badiashile
Don't forget what centre-back Badiashile can bring to the table, especially
looking at his first two outings for Chelsea since his £35m arrival from
Monaco.
The 21-year-old has started two Premier League games so far and Chelsea have
kept clean sheets in both of them. It's a small sample size, but Chelsea's
backline does look a bit more organised with the young defender in it.
What Badiashile will likely argue is that the inclusion of him, Fernandez
and one of Mudryk and Felix means Chelsea are adding a defender, midfielder
and an attacker to their Champions League squad, thereby bringing in a new
spine to their outfield ranks.
But is the lure of including the three aforementioned players too big for
Potter? With Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva, Trevoh
Chalobah, Marc Cucurella and Cesar Azpilicueta all able to play in a back
three, Badiashile is looking at a lot of centre-back rivals.
Noni Madueke
There is a lot of positivity around Madueke's arrival from PSV Eindhoven,
with the 20-year-old possessing a box of tricks in wide positions that can
harm any defence.
What lets the England Under-21 international down is that he has not played
a match in the Champions League proper before - and with the likes of Mudryk
and Felix as alternative options, Madueke looks like one of the players who
will miss out, at least for this season.
David Datro Fofana
Fofana was the first January arrival for Chelsea in the window, but his
limited displays since signing at Chelsea in the first week of the year
means he is also set to be left out.
The striker is yet to make his Premier League debut for the club, despite
being named in three matchday squads and with three forwards ahead of him in
the queue, his Champions League involvement looks nigh-on impossible.
Is the big dilemma between Joao Felix and
Badiashile?
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
"It's three from six. You would think Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana
will miss out as they're quite young.
"So you're left with four big-money signings: Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo
Mudryk, Joao Felix and Benoit Badiashile.
"Enzo Fernandez has got to be in the squad for £105m. Mudryk has to be in
the squad for £88m. So you're wondering, is it going to be Joao Felix or
Benoit Badiashile who is going to miss out?
"Joao Felix is a brilliant player on loan, how would he react to being left
out? Then there's Benoit Badiashile, who has had a good impact so far as a
centre-back. Would Chelsea want to go into the Champions League without him
in their squad?"
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