Chelsea has left Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of their CL squad along with new signing Benoit Badiashile. Joao Felix, Enzo Fernandez, and Mykhailo Mudryk were all included, but Aubameyang and Benoit Badiashile, who moved to Chelsea for £35 million last month but wasn’t listed on the UEFA team page, weren’t. While Badiashile started Chelsea’s 0-0 Premier League encounter against Fulham on Friday night, Aubameyang was left off the matchday squad, fuelling speculations of a spat with the manager, which Potter rejected in his press conference.
“Because of Pierre’s experience, I don’t think it will be difficult. He hasn’t done anything wrong at all. It’s really too bad for Pierre. He will fight for his spot for the rest of the season. That decision was mine. It was a challenging decision. However, sometimes you have to make these choices,” Chelsea boss Graham Potter said about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. “Nothing negative has been heard regarding him. It is difficult because I am sensitive and can identify with his disappointment, but I have a duty to have these conversations and lay out my decisions as honestly as I can. Everything is up for grabs. He must continue to put in the work, train as he did today, and be ready to play because football is constantly changing. The game is made in that way.”
Chelsea was only allowed to add a maximum of three new players before their Champions League round of 16 matches against Borussia Dortmund on February 15. The maximum roster capacity for each club is 25, although Chelsea only had Jorginho leave the team during the January transfer window while using 24 players during the group stage. Clubs must inform UEFA of any intended squad changes by February 2 at 11 p.m.
Because they were all authorized to have played for another club this season, the three newly registered players were unable to take part in the knockout stages of any European competitions. In January, Chelsea added a total of eight players. Aubameyang is included in Chelsea’s 25-man Premier League squad in addition to their new signings because there are no restrictions on the number of changes a team can make. Thursday was also the deadline.
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