Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on new signings and where they can play: "Pedro [Neto] can play right winger, he can play left winger. Joao [Felix] can play as an attacking midfielder, a number nine, as a winger, and we have many games."

On giving players long contracts: "This is not my problem. I am here to make decisions on who are the best for us. I am not thinking about how many years their contracts are [for]. It's not my job."

Image source, Reuters

Chelsea

It was put to Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca that Raheem Sterling played during pre-season, so why has he decided so late that he's not part of his plans?

"It's not late," said Maresca. "Who played in the first game [in pre-season] against Wrexham as a winger? Tyrique George, an academy player. Who played the second? Mykhailo Mudryk.

"Then Raheem played [from the start]. It was a chance to see all of them in competition. I'm not saying he's not a good player, but I prefer different kinds of wingers."

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on keeping players happy: "I think it is the manager whose job is to keep the players happy but this is something almost impossible because they train every day to get minutes and at the end only 11 are going to play.

"Some of them will play some minutes from the bench. It's almost impossible to keep all of them happy. The only thing I can say is that i try to be honest with all of them in this moment, the noise is from outside. More than 15 players, they are training apart, they are not with the team."

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on if he is brutal: "Brutal? I don't think so I just had to try to be honest. I just said and I will say it again, I spoke with Raheem [Sterling] before Manchester City, I said that he is going to struggle to get minutes with us. With Chilly [Ben Chilwell], I said he is a lovely guy but with his position, he's going to struggle with us. It's not brutal, it's honest."

Image source, EPA

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell: "In this moment, they are training apart [from the team]. As I said, the situation, with both of them is quite clear, there is not any update on the situation."

On whether their days at Chelsea are over: "No because they are Chelsea players. Until they aren't Chelsea players, they will be Chelsea players. We have a big squad, for me it's impossible to give everyone minutes so if they're looking for minutes, probably it is better to leave and in case they don't leave they have a contract here, they are Chelsea players."

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on why he signed Joao Felix: "First of all because he's a good player, he's a talent. The club already knows him from two years ago. He can play different positions with us, inside, as a nine, outside."

On Conor Gallagher: "The only thing I can say is that it is not from today, its from days and weeks ago, the process. It's nothing new."

And off we go, Enzo Maresca is speaking to the media...

Chelsea

On Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca’s playing philosophy, Joao Felix added: "It will suit my game perfectly.

"I just want to give my best to the team and the club - goals, assists. This season I want to play as many games as I can, to help the team and the club be on top of world football again.

"Chelsea needs to be up there. This season we have to have a big season, and I am going to do my best to help."

Chelsea

More from new Chelsea signing Joao Felix: "I’ve developed as a player in a lot of ways: the perception of the game, and the spaces the ball can arrive easily where I can make more impact. I try to figure it out by watching videos of my games.

"I’ve kind of changed since I was last here. I’m 24 now, I’ll be 25 in November. I feel like I grew up as a player. That’s normal with age. I’m more prepared for the Premier League.

"I feel like my best years are ahead of me. I have no doubt about that. The best years are still to come, and this year is going to be a good year, because now I am permanently at home, and I can enjoy home."

Chelsea

After his loan spell at Chelsea, Joao Felix spent last season on loan with Barcelona.

"It’s a chance for me to find a home," he added. "After two loans, I needed to stay permanently in one place. There is no better place for me to be than Chelsea. I see a perfect place to shine.

"It was a little bit of a lot of things that made me want to come back: the project, the club, the league, the fans, the time I spent here that I loved. I felt really good when I was here, despite the results we had. I’m really happy to be back."

Wow, it's all go at Chelsea today. Just over two hours after Conor Gallagher's departure is announced, Joao Felix's signing is revealed.

Remember, manager Enzo Maresca will be talking to the press at 13:00 BST.

Chelsea

New Chelsea forward Joao Felix, who spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan with the Blues: "I’m really happy to be back at Chelsea and I can’t wait to get started. I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.

"I loved my time here before and I told my friends and family that I’d love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling and I’m excited to be back."

Chelsea have announced the signing of Joao Felix for about £45m.

The Portugal forward, 24, has signed a seven-year contract with the Blues.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport

There were some standout performers last season from the top two sides with Chelsea and Manchester City therefore dominating my Team of the Year.

Chelsea forward Aggie Beever-Jones just misses out, as does City defender Laia Aleixandri, who made the official PFA selection.

I opted for Liverpool’s Grace Fisk instead as the Reds had an exceptional season finishing in fourth and she was key to that. Golden Glove winner Khiara Keating was a no-brainer in goal and top-scorer Khadija Shaw had to be in the team. Grace Clinton, as the PFA’s Young Player of the Year, is also in there.

My personal Player of the Year was City midfielder Yui Hasegawa and she was the first name on my team sheet.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

A reminder, here are the official PFA men's and women's Teams of the Year, selected by players:

Well, we shall be hearing from Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca who has his pre-match news conference before his side's game with Servette on Thursday, today at 13:00 BST.

But, I want to briefly return to our PFA Team of the Year chat from earlier. Some of our BBC Experts have got involved and picked their Dream Teams...

Image source, EPA

Although Raheem Sterling was left out of Chelsea's squad to face Manchester City in the Premier League last Sunday and has been omitted from their squad to face Servette in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, he still features in their first-team squad on the club website., external

This week it was cut from 42 to 32 players, and those to go include Conor Gallagher, who has completed his move to Atletico Madrid, and Bashir Humphreys, who has joined Burnley on loan.

Josh Acheampong, Deivid Washington and Tyrique George now feature in just the Under-21 squad, but as Under-21 players they wouldn't count towards Chelsea's 25-man squad for the Premier League anyway.

The other five to be removed from Chelsea's first-team squad on the club website are therefore Kepa Arrizabalaga, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, David Fofana and Tino Anjorin.

Chelsea have already made it clear they are willing to let the first three leave but, as the last two no longer qualify as Under-21 players, they will also be looking to seal a deal before the transfer deadline in order for them to play again this year.

At the start of the week, Chelsea's website listed 42 players in their first-team squad. There's now just 32. So who's been cut?

Many of those players are still with the club, with no reports of imminent departures, so that would leave them in limbo at least until January - if the club has no intention of registering them to play in the Premier League or Europe.

If only reducing your squad size was as easy as just deleting players from your website!!