Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the knockout stages. Alongside him, new signing Benoit Badiashile has also not been included in the shortlist to proceed further.
UEFA rulings state that only three new January signings can be included in the squad. And on that end, Joao Felix, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez have been included while Badiashile has been sacrificed.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left out of Chelsea’s UCL squad
Chelsea’s other new signings, David Datro Fofana, Noni Madueke and Andrey Santos have also not been included in the squad. On the other hand, Hakim Ziyech has kept his place after a deadline day scramble which saw his move to PSG collapse.
Aubameyang has featured for all of Chelsea’s Champions League group stage games. He also scored against AC Milan when the two teams played. Had he been included in the squad, he would have faced his former club, Borussia Dortmund, in the Round of 16.
But with limited opportunities following the arrival of Graham Potter, his time in the Champions League is also up. The Gabon striker has found it hard to start ahead of Kai Havertz, and with Joao Felix coming in as well, things do not look much better.
All things considered, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be on the move again in the summer when the transfer window opens.
Chelsea have an incredible squad depth for the latter half of the season, and it will be very challenging for Graham Potter to manage all the players and give them time. He has already admitted that there will be difficult conversations behind the scenes, and morale could be affected with Aubameyang’s situation being the start.
