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Joe Doyle

Chelsea players in danger of missing Champions League squad after January transfer window

It's already been a month of huge upheaval in the Chelsea squad with the arrival of six players so far in the January transfer window. And they may not be done yet with Todd Boehly eyeing further additions to Graham Potter's squad.

The likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix and Noni Madueke have been brought in to bolster the attacking line, while Benoit Badiashile has already made his presence felt with two clean sheets in a row following his arrival from Monaco.

There have also been players added for the future, with Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana agreeing to move to Stamford Bridge. But the high volume of players arriving does raise some questions over the squad.

READ MORE: Every word Graham Potter said on Liverpool vs Chelsea, Mudryk, Madueke signing, Silva and more

In February, Chelsea will restart their Champions League campaign with a two-legged tie against Borussia Dortmund. Ahead of those two games they must name an updated squad list for the knockout stage of the competition, but they can only make a small number of changes to their list from the group stage.

For UEFA competitions, there is both an 'A' list and a 'B' list. Clubs can have a maximum of 25 players on their A list, and an unlimited number on the 'B' list - which is formed of players born on or after January 1, 2001, and have been eligible to play for the club for a minimum of two years since their 15th birthday. In the group stages, Lewis Hall, Charlie Webster and Armando Broja were all included as 'B' list players.

Chelsea have one slot open from the group stages after naming just 24 players in their 'A' list. That means to use a full complement of three new players in the squad for the knockout rounds, they'd have to remove two more players.

Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos are the most obvious candidates to miss out on a place in the squad given their inexperience at that level. One possible - although unlikely - option would be to remove one of their three goalkeepers from the list, with clubs only required to name a minimum of two on their list. Though with Edouard Mendy currently out with a broken finger, it seems unlikely that Potter would risk being left with just one goalkeeper available should there be another injury or suspension issue.

Of the new signings, the most likely to be named in the squad would appear to be Mudryk following his £88million move from Shakhtar Donetsk. The attacker made an instant impact on his debut against Liverpool, looking dangerous after his cameo from the bench.

Felix's red card on his debut against Fulham has meant that he will not play again for the Blues until at least February 11 - just four days before the first leg against Borussia Dortmund. It leaves Potter with a dilemma over whether to remove another attacker to bring him in, though with the futures of Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang not so concrete.

Madueke and Badiashile would both have cases to be the third member added to the squad in the group stages. Chelsea's attack has struggled for goals in the Premier League this season, scoring just 22 in 20 matches. And while Badiashile has started well at Stamford Bridge, the Blues are about to get Wesley Fofana back from injury.

Fofana arrived from Leicester in a £70million deal in the summer, but has been limited to just four appearances for the club so far. He is already on the 'A' list from the start of the season, so it seems unlikely that Potter would remove a player to add another centre-back. Kalidou Koulibaly's lack of form recently could put him in danger, though, if the manager feels Badiashile offers a better option to the team.

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