Thomas Tuchel has sent a message to six players after Chelsea's squad numbers for the 2022/23 campaign were confirmed this week.
New signings Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Carney Chukwuemeka have all received their official squad numbers for the upcoming campaign. Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher have also received squad numbers following their return from successful loan spells with Southampton and Crystal Palace respectively.
football.london understands Chelsea have agreed reached an agreement to make Marc Cucurella their fifth summer signing, despite Brighton denying they have sanctioned an exit for the Spanish defender. Levi Colwill is amongst those to not receive a squad number as speculation over his future continues, but the Blues are reluctant to let the 19-year-old leave on a permanent deal this summer.
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Colwill has attracted interest from a number of Premier League rival clubs, with Brighton actively pursuing a deal for the talented centre-back. Negotiations for Colwill are separate to those between the Blues and Seagulls for Cucurella, who is currently in London undergoing a medical ahead of a move to Stamford Bridge, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
The absence of a squad number for the 19-year-old suggests Tuchel is willing to let him leave the club this summer, preferably on loan as opposed to a permanent deal. football.london understands Chelsea are preparing an improved offer of £70million for Leicester defender Wesley Fofana, a deal that would see Colwill drop further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge should it be successful.
Other players that have not received a squad number ahead of the new season include Michy Batshuayi, Ross Barkley, Kenedy, Ethan Ampadu and Billy Gilmour. With Chukwuemeka inheriting Batshuayi's no.30 shirt, Gallagher taking Kenedy and Gilmour's former no.23 shirt and Armando Broja taking Barkley's no.18 shirt, Tuchel has implied none of those players will be a part of his plans for the upcoming campaign and they should all look to leave the club this summer.
The Chelsea boss was able to convince Broja to stay in west London after the club rejected a £30million bid from West Ham for the Albanian striker earlier in the transfer window. Batshuayi is attracting interest from Everton and Wolves, whilst the other four players without a number will need to find a solution to their situations before the transfer deadline on Thursday, September 1.
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