Chelsea to Drastically Trim Squad as Xabi Alonso Parts Ways with 16 Players

Chelsea face a serious squad-management problem ahead of the 2026/27 season, with the first-team squad reaching 41 players while 25 days remain before the summer transfer window closes. The club’s new head coach, Xabi Alonso, faces the huge task of fundamentally reshaping the team and offloading surplus players. This was reported by Goal.com reports .

Chelsea’s absence from European competitions this season makes it even more difficult to retain an already oversized squad. With this in mind, the board and coaching staff plan to bring the squad down to a manageable size in the coming weeks by selling or loaning out players.

Plans to Optimise the Squad

Such situations have become common at Stamford Bridge in recent years. Although Premier League rules provide special exemptions for under-21 players and academy graduates, making registration easier, experts believe that working with such a large squad could negatively affect the team’s stability.

According to the BBC, Spanish coach Xabi Alonso aims to reduce the number of first-team players to 25. This means that no fewer than 16 players must leave the team or move to other clubs by the beginning of September.

New Rules and the Solution

Chelsea previously faced difficulties with players such as Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, who trained separately from the first team and became known publicly as part of the “bomb squad”. FIFA later officially banned this practice.

Leading clubs around the world are now forced to resolve such difficult situations only by selling or loaning players directly. Xabi Alonso’s coaching staff is also operating within these rules and aims to create a healthy competitive environment within the squad before the season begins.