Chelsea can take advantage of a loophole when it comes to submitting their Premier League squad next month. Under new management in Xabi Alonso, the Blues have been extremely busy this summer, with as many as eight first-team players arriving at Stamford Bridge. Pep Chivarra is expected to take that number up to nine imminently.
Standard Sport understands the left-back has agreed personal terms with Chelsea, and all that remains is for an agreement to be struck with Rayo Vallecano and the subsequent medical. With Mykhailo Mudryk available for selection again after resolving his anti-doping disciplinary proceedings with the Football Association (FA), the Chelsea first-team squad is expanding, though sales are expected between now and transfer Deadline Day.
Current squad numbers
As things currently stand, the Blues have 41 players listed in their senior squad on the official club website. That number must be whittled down when they are permitted to name a 25-man squad for the Premier League after the summer transfer window closes at the beginning of September. Of the 25, no more than 17 overseas players can be named, with the remaining eight places available to home-grown members of the squad.
To be considered home-grown, players need to have been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Welsh FA for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21). Chelsea will not have any issues meeting the home-grown quota as Robert Sanchez, Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap, and Jamie Gittens are the existing players at the club who are eligible.
Under-21 exemption
Meanwhile, summer signings Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson fall into the home-grown category too. Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha, Geovany Quenda, Maxence Lacroix and Valentin Barco do not, however, though the Blues can avoid having to name two of their summer signings in the Premier League squad.
This is because, as per Premier League rules: "An Under 21 player is defined as one who is under the age of 21 on 1st January in the year in which the season commences. For example, for the 2025-26 Premier League season, Under-21 players were born on or after January 1, 2004." Going by that explanation, for the 2026-27 Premier League season, Under-21 players will have been born on or after January 1, 2005.
As Palestra and Quenda were born on March 3, 2005 and April 30, 2007 respectively, neither summer signing - unlike Rogers, Welbeck, Henderson, Emegha, Lacroix and Barco - have to be registered in order to feature for Chelsea in the Premier League next season.
