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Due to registration rules, only three of the six January signings will be allowed to compete.
Chelsea is grappling with the decision of which of their big-money January signings to register for the competition’s knockout stages.
Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez as their eighth signing of the January transfer window, though right-back Malo Gusto will not join until the end of the season.
Although Brazilian teenager Andrey Santos has yet to receive a work permit, Chelsea still has six new signings vying for three Champions League spots.
Clubs are permitted to register a maximum of three new players for the competition’s knockout stages, which means Chelsea must choose between Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, and on-loan players. David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, and Joao Felix.
Fofana and Madueke, who cost a combined £40 million, are almost certain to be left out, but head coach Graham Potter and Chelsea must still choose three from the remaining four.
Badiashile, signed for £35 million from Monaco, started Chelsea’s last two games and impressed, but with Wesley Fofana returning from injury, Potter may believe he has enough defensive cover to handle the 21-year-old in Europe.
That would leave Fernandez, Mudryk, and Felix as the three new faces in Potter’s Champions League squad, with Chelsea set to begin their knockout campaign on February 15 with a last-16 match against Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea currently sits 10th in the Premier League table and are out of the EFL and FA Cups, leaving the UEFA Champions League as their only chance to finish the season with a trophy, as well as their best chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea’s January transfer window spending was overseen by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali and one-half of their new recruitment team, Paul Winstanley, director of global talent and transfers, and technical director Christopher Vivell.
Laurence Stewart, Chelsea’s co-technical director, had an impact on the club’s operations, but he will join the club on a permanent basis this month, along with co-director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields.
