Chelsea were heavily criticised over the summer for having over 40 players on the books. Manager Enzo Maresca hit back at the idea, explaining that less than 25 were training with him as part of the senior team.
A large enough group of the 44 (or so) who were contracted by Chelsea were sold or loaned before the end of transfer window. Some remained. Now, 42 matches into Maresca's first season in charge, he has used a total of 38 players.
More than that have been named but have not gotten onto the pitch. It is 38 who have played at least once, even as a substitute. Of those, 31 have started a game across all competitions. 28 have more than 200 minutes to their name.
It is also worth noting that seven have left the club and Mykhailo Mudryk is currently suspended and unavailable. In the Premier League, numbers are much smaller.
In 28 matches (prior to the visit to Arsenal on Sunday), 25 players have started in the league. Another four have come on as a substitute at least once.
Chelsea's Conference League squad has been the source of great rotation and therefore the figures are somewhat bloated. A host of academy players have been offered debuts or appearances in small doses.
At times, these players have also been granted a brief pathway or vision of the senior squad for longer. Tyrique George has built up faith to become a fully-fledged first-team player, as has Josh Acheampong. Performances for the Under-18 and Under-21 teams were enough to get Shumaira Mheuka onto the pitch just days after his 17th birthday, whilst Harrison Murrary-Campbell, Ato Ampah, Kiano Dyer, and most recently Genesis Antwi have all played at least some role.
In the Conference League there is still the margin for error that allows Maresca to play Cobham's best in a relatively risk-free environment. George and Acheampong are among the mainstays but the further on Chelsea go the less they are likely to get.
This has been exaggerated in league squads over the past couple of months. Injuries to Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, and more recently Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke have left Maresca without five players who were staples in the matchday 20.
When Chelsea return after the international break they could all be available once more. From struggling to fill the bench with senior players, some are going to start missing out.
The first to be cut will be the academy prospects stepping up. Ishe Samuels-Smith, Dyer, and Rak-Sakyi have all been peripheral and effective placeholders. They are already back in youth football for the most part.
Aaron Anselmino, who was recalled from his loan in January, is injured but is another who is now behind the returning centre-backs, Acheampong, and Trevoh Chalobah. He will be shunted back in the pecking order.
Aaron Anselmino of Chelsea during a training session
Aaron Anselmino of Chelsea during a training session (Image: Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
In Europe, there is more room to name an expanded squad. The Premier League is limited to nine players on the bench, and there are now 21 players who would consider themselves as part of the senior group who are available. Mathis Amougou has been used as backup to the backup so far, meaning he is surely set to have an even more reduced role to come, whilst Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is almost at Conference League only minutes.
The exits for Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, and Joao Felix have trimmed the squad and compressed things slightly. Dewsbury-Hall and Amougou will be the first to feel the full impact of Jackson and Madueke's return, though.
When Marc Guiu enters the conversation there will then be a fight between himself and George, presumably, for a spot as rotational frontline player. Mheuka could find his spot in the Conference League dwindling from that point as well.
Omari Kellyman, meanwhile, is hoping to force his way in. The midfield is the most bare, although Reece James being fielded further up has added some cover there. Amougou isn't really considered. Mudryk would throw a spanner in the works for George and Guiu if he is allowed to play again anytime soon.
This all paints the picture that Chelsea's squad is growing again, although not out of control. Maresca is in need of quality in depth and might be about to get that. It will have a knock-on effect for the youngest and most inexperienced members, though.
For now, Dewsbury-Hall, George, and Acheampong are the most immediately in danger of dropping out altogether. This has a trickle-down effect on the wider academy involvement in Premier League games and potentially in Europe as well.
On Sunday at Arsenal there is a chance that at least one player who has been involved in recent weeks is left in the cold. They aren't set to be a high-profile name but more will follow.
It is ideal for competition and rotation but not for those who want regular top-end opportunities or exposure. It is something for Maresca to manage and balance too but he won't be complaining at having more available for selection.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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