Saying Chelsea have rebuilt their squad might be one of the most obvious statements to make. The club has revamped their transfer strategy to focus on youth and upcoming talent. This strategy has seen a massive exodus of deadwood at the club and has allowed the club to recoup a large amount of money they have spent. The upcoming Premier League season is getting nearer, and Chelsea have just released their squad numbers. Some notable changes include Mykhailo Mudryk taking the number ten and Enzo Fernandez switching to the number eight.
The squad numbers list also tells us what players no longer have a future at the club, given they weren’t given a number at all.
Hakim Ziyech
The Moroccan international was not given a squad number signalling that his time at Stamford Bridge is over. Hakim Ziyech should be an Al Nassr player right now, but he failed his medical and remains a Chelsea player for the time being. As The Top Flight had covered, Ziyech was originally expected to join PSG on loan this past January, but the paperwork was not filed in time. Ziyech has 107 appearances with Chelsea to date and was a part of the 2021 Champions League winning squad.
Romelu Lukaku
Briefly, the club’s record transfer, Romelu Lukaku, does not have a squad number. The Belgian striker spent last on loan at Inter after his return to Chelsea saw him net 15 goals in 44 matches. In what was probably the tipping point for Chelsea, Lukaku went on record that he missed playing for Inter in an interview in 2021. Now even Inter does not want to bring Lukaku back as he secretly had held talks with rivals Juventus over a move. As The Top Flight has covered, Juventus want to bring Romelu Lukaku to Turin in a swap deal that sends Dusan Vlahovic to Chelsea.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Once regarded as Chelsea’s starboy, Hudson-Odoi has failed to kick on and is no longer wanted by Chelsea. He does not have a number and will leave at some point this summer transfer window. As The Top Flight reported earlier, Fulham wants to sign the English winger but has already had a bid rejected. Callum spent last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, who have decided not to pursue a permanent deal.