New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has warned the club's owners that they are at risk of a squad 'mess' if they fail to continue trimming the numbers in his dressing room.
Chelsea had 33 players in their first-team squad last season and now, after returning loanees and new signings countered a £200m selling spree, the Blues are working with a 29-player roster during pre-season.
Pochettino wants at least five players cut from that group but also called for more balance in certain positions. Chelsea currently have four left-backs - Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Ian Maatsen and the versatile Lewis Hall - but just five midfielders, the most senior of whom is 23-year-old Conor Gallagher.
"We need to add players, as maybe in another position we miss some players and in that position we have four and sometimes the squad is unbalanced," Pochettino told the media after the 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
"We need to build a balanced squad to have the possibility to compete for a position, but not have players who are going to be the third or fourth option to play."
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The boss continued: "First of all I think we need to define the squad as I think we are 29 players here and it is massive. At the moment the dynamic is very good, really good guys and they are sharing the time together. It is difficult because sometimes in every game three, four, five players cannot play and the mood is difficult.
"It is about creating a squad with good balance and people who have the opportunity to play and can compete for their place. That is a big job for us in the transfer window to build a good relationship. If players are not happy because they believe they are not going to play, we are going to find a solution with the club and fix the situation.
"What we cannot have is a massive squad, players not be involved and then it’s going to create a mess in the squad. Maybe less is more and more is less, it is not mathematic. That is why I need to make clear we don’t need a big squad. We need 22, 23, 24 players with some younger and that’s it. I am so sorry because maybe the decision will be tough but we need to build a good and a balanced team who want to compete for things."
Former interim boss Frank Lampard recently discussed the challenges of working with Chelsea's bloated squad, admitting it became impossible to motivate a large number of players as the Blues headed towards a toxic end to the campaign.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mauricio Pochettino warns Chelsea owners of squad 'mess'.