CHELSEA failed to shift FOUR players on transfer deadline day.
That’s despite Mauricio Pochettino’s complaints about dealing with a bloated squad.
The Blues cracked the £1billion spending mark under Todd Boehly with the £42.5million capture of Manchester City’s Cole Palmer on deadline day.
Chelsea also bid farewell to Callum Hudson-Odoi after the winger joined Nottingham Forest in an £8m deal.
And young striker Mason Burstow was loaned to Sunderland despite already making three appearances this term, with defender Bashir Humphreys also getting a late move to Swansea.
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In total, Chelsea offloaded 25 players this summer while welcoming 14 new faces plus several returning loanees.
But the Blues’ first-team squad remains packed to the brim after four aces stayed put at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the window.
Conor Gallagher is sticking around for the season after Tottenham failed to follow up an initial £40m offer.
Likewise, Trevoh Chalobah saw a loan move to Bayern Munich blocked before rejecting an offer from Nottingham Forest, with Spurs also said to have been interested.
Marc Cucurella was also left in no man’s land after Man United snubbed him in favour of Sergio Reguilon.
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And Ian Maatsen could end up penning a new contract after rejecting a £32m loan-to-buy bid from his former side Burnley.
According to Chelsea’s official website, boss Pochettino now has 32 players to look after this term.
The Londoners have no European competition that requires heavy-duty rotation.
And in Poch’s own words, they have at least seven players too many in their senior set-up, with 25 his preferred number.
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Pochettino said last month: “Maybe we do need, even if we do well in the competition, we need 23, 24 players. Max 25, keepers included. Less than 25 is better.
“We need be right and need to be able to choose the player and profile. The balance is important.
"Sometimes you get the balance with less. It's not that you can't manage the players, it's that they can't play.
“Where are they going to get the motivation to play and to train if they are not involved? It's not going to be easy for them and not fair and we can't ask them to be happy every day.
"We cannot blame the players. We need to be clear and to be strong in our decision and be right in the numbers of players if we think there can be injuries or suspended but not so big."
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