Analysing Chelsea's 28-man Club World Cup squad
- Published
The main headlines from Chelsea's 28-man Club World Cup squad are that it includes the usual star names like Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo, while Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are among those omitted.
However, this is a squad picked both to win the competition and for pragmatic reasons by manager Enzo Maresca.
Other exciting selections are new signings Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mike Penders and Mamadou Sarr.
Maresca opted against taking the maximum 35 players to ensure a happier group, while only midfielder Andrey Santos has managed to make it back into the main squad after a loan spell away.
The rest of the loanees, including Sterling, Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Djordje Petrovic and Joao Felix, will be allowed to stay on holiday. They are then likely to return to Cobham for training.
All those listed in the above paragraph are available for sale. Goalkeeper Petrovic rated at Stamford Bridge but all parties agree a move away from the club is the best option for his continued development, despite a productive loan at partner club Strasbourg.
The Serbia international does have an image rights issue that could impact a permanent transfer, so loan options are also being explored.
Among those not selected are Juventus loanee Renato Veiga. A source close to the player says the defender had expected to return to Chelsea to play in the competition after winning the Nations League with Portugal.
The source added that Juve had wanted to at least extend Veiga's loan for the duration of the Club World Cup, but an expectation the Blues would not release him for the newly expanded tournament in the United States made him less attractive to sign.
Midfielders Mathis Amougou and Kendry Paez have also not been selected due to expected loan moves to Strasbourg.
Sources close to Paez, who has only just joined the club for £17.2m from Independiente del Valle, have also expressed their surprise at his omission.
Veiga and Paez appear to be two isolated incidents, with the majority of those not picked having expected not to take part.
Meanwhile, the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Christopher Nkunku, Gabriel Slonina and Aaron Anselmino could all still leave the club, despite being selected to travel.
Interestingly, Borussia Dortmund included winger Jamie Gittens in their squad hours after Chelsea bid over £42m to sign him, which means he is cup-tied even if the Blues return to seal his signature after a newly introduced mini-transfer window for the tournament closed on Tuesday.