BREAKING: Chelsea announce 28-man pre-season tour squad with 8-players left out
Prior to their preseason tour of the United States, Chelsea has confirmed its playing roster, which consists of 28 players. Traveling across the Atlantic for the third summer in a row, new head coach Enzo Maresca will have his hands full with five games scheduled.
The Blues’ first summer friendly is scheduled for Thursday, July 25 (3am BST) at Santa Clara against League One team Wrexham. Following that, they will travel across the United States to play Celtic, Club America, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. The west London team will be in America for almost a week. On Wednesday, August 7 (12 a.m. BST), they will play their last friendly against Real Madrid in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Once back in London, Chelsea will play one final summer friendly as they host Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 11, one week before the visit of Manchester City in their Premier League opener. It is a very important summer for Maresca and the team as the new head coach looks to get off to an impressive start after replacing Mauricio Pochettino in the Chelsea hotseat.
Maresca’s squad for the summer tour contains a nice blend of youth and experience and it does also include the Blues’ summer signings. Tosin Adarabioyo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are part of the squad following their respective moves from Fulham and Leicester City.
Marc Guiu and Renato Veiga are included after signing on the dotted line in SW6 this summer. There is no place for Trevoh Chalobah.
Other notable absentees include Omari Kellyman, Alfie Gilchrist, Bashir Humphreys, Cesare Casadei, David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington, and Djordje Petrovic. The club are thought to be exploring deals away for most of these, with loans possible.
Chelsea have also confirmed that there will be more players joining up with the group at a later date. These are expected to include the players who were on international duty late into the summer’s two big tournaments, with Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, and Marc Cucurella all likely to meet up with their teammates further down the line.
Chelsea’s 2024 pre-season tour squad
Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Marcus Bettinelli, Eddie Beach, Lucas Bergstrom
Defenders: Reece James, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell, Renato Veiga
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Andrey Santos
Forwards: Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Armando Broja, Tyrique George, Marc Guiu, Angelo