Chelsea reveal USA tour squad with Wesley Fofana, Reece James and Romelu Lukaku among absentees
helsea have revealed a 29-man travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the United States.
The Blues are heading across the Atlantic for a busy summer trip that includes five matches in as many different cities, with new boss Mauricio Pochettino taking charge of the team for the first time against Wrexham in an FC Series clash in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Wednesday night.
That is followed by the inaugural Premier League Summer Series, in which Chelsea will face a trio of familiar opponents in Brighton (July 22), Newcastle (July 26) and Fulham (July 30) in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Landover respectively. The tour culminates in a meeting with Borussia Dortmund in Chicago on August 2.
Chelsea have now confirmed their travelling party led by Pochettino, which includes new signings Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira and Dujuan Richards, plus Malo Gusto and Andrey Santos, who both joined in January before being sent straight back out on loan. Young Jamaica striker Richards will not play in any of the matches though, having been designated in a “training only” role.
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However, Wesley Fofana has been left behind entirely due to a knee injury, which the club say is currently being assessed.
Also staying back at Cobham due to injury are Fofana’s fellow French centre-back Benoit Badiashile and goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, with striker Armando Broja similarly not travelling as he continues his comeback from ACL surgery. The absence of both Fofana and Badiashile should lead to a starting role for Levi Colwill.
There is also no Reece James in Chelsea’s initial squad, but his absence has been confirmed as merely precautionary due to illness, with the England right-back expected to fly out to join his team-mates as soon as he has recovered.
As expected, there is no Romelu Lukaku in the group as Chelsea continue to work to secure his exit with Juventus now leading the race for his signature after Inter Milan withdrew their £34million bid and walked away from talks over a permanent deal.
Juventus have also made a £32m offer for Lukaku that includes a further £2m in add-ons, but any deal is conditional on the Serie A giants selling Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic first.
Al-Hilal also want Lukaku, but the Belgian international would prefer a return to Italy over a move to Saudi Arabia, despite the offer of a massive pay rise.
There is similarly no Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in Chelsea’s US squad, with the former Arsenal captain also surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge amid interest from French club Marseille.
Work continues: Mauricio Pochettino has named a 29-player squad to tour the United States
/ Chelsea FC via Getty ImagesOther notable absentees include Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is in talks with Fulham after returning from a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen, and Hakim Ziyech, who is being linked with Napoli after the collapse of a proposed £8m switch to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.
Pochettino has taken plenty of younger players to the US, including Lucas Bergstrom, Eddie Beach, Jamie Cumming, Bashir Humphreys, Ian Maatsen, Alfie Gilchrist, Cesare Casadei and Mason Burstow.
Chelsea’s 29-man squad for USA pre-season tour
Goalkeepers
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Gabriel Slonina
Lucas Bergstrom
Eddie Beach
Jamie Cumming
Defenders
Thiago Silva
Trevoh Chalobah
Ben Chilwell
Marc Cucurella
Malo Gusto
Bashir Humphreys
Levi Colwill
Ian Maatsen
Alfie Gilchrist
Midfielders
Enzo Fernandez
Conor Gallagher
Carney Chukwuemeka
Andrey Santos
Cesare Casadei
Lewis Hall
Forwards
Mykhailo Mudryk
Raheem Sterling
Noni Madueke
Angelo Gabriel
Diego Moreira
Nicolas Jackson
Christopher Nkunku
Mason Burstow
Dujuan Richards (training only)
