Two of Zouma, Bakayoko, Batshuayi or Giroud need to leave for Chelsea to meet non-homegrown squad limits

As exciting as it is to get both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Mateo Kovačić signed, sealed, and delivered over the past 24-48 hours, it does leave Chelsea with a bit of work to do when it comes to meeting non-homegrown squad limits.

Both the Premier League and the Champions Europa League limit teams to 17 non-homegrown players, and even though Chelsea smartly added Rob Green as a homegrown third goalkeeper, we are still well over the limit at this point if we were to register everyone.

Here’s how it looks right now:

HG/club-trained (4): Aina, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Musonda

HG/FA-trained (6): Barkley, Cahill, Drinkwater, Fàbregas, Green, Moses

non-HomeGrown (19): Alonso, Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Bakayoko, Batshuayi, Caballero, David Luiz, Emerson, Giroud, Hazard, Jorginho, Kanté, Kovačić, Morata, Pedro, Rüdiger, Willian, Zappacosta, Zouma

And that 19 isn’t counting the likes of Piazon, Kalas, etc. On the plus side, Abraham, Ampadu and Hudson-Odoi are under-21 and thus are essentially free.

Or, if you’re a visual learner:

The four most likely candidates to leave are Bakayoko (linked with AC Milan), Batshuayi (linked with Valencia), Giroud (not really linked with anyone), and Zouma (linked with Everton). Only two need to go, either on loan or permanently. This also means that no additional non-homegrown signings (such as Nabil Fekir) can be made until another spot is opened up.

They don’t necessarily have to leave now, but the Premier League registration deadline is coming up once the transfer window closes in a few hours, so there’s little reason to wait around.

Decisions, decisions...