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Chelsea CWC squad: Delap in; Sterling, Félix out

ESPN

Jun 11, 2025, 12:03 PM ET

Chelsea have confirmed new signings Liam Delap, Mamadou Sarr and Dário Essugo have been included in their 28-man squad for the Club World Cup, while Raheem Sterling, João Félix and Axel Disasi are among the players to have been left out.

The west London club face Mexican side Club León in their opening game of the tournament in Atlanta on June 16.

Delap joined Chelsea from Ipswich Town on June 4 and will play in the Club World Cup instead of being part of Lee Carsley's England squad for the U21 European Championship. Delap has been joined at Chelsea by fellow new recruits Sarr and Essuogo.

Chelsea's squad has experienced heavy turnover in recent years, following the takeover of the club by the Todd Boehly-led Clearlake Capital consortium.

Raheem Sterling joined the club in 2022 but played for Arsenal on loan last season after being deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca.

Félix signed on a permanent transfer from Atlético Madrid in 2024 having previously spent six months on loan at the club the previous year. He was loaned to AC Milan during the January transfer window.

Disasi has made 37 appearances for Chelsea since signing in 2023. He spent the second half of this season on loan at Aston Villa.

All three players have been left out of the squad that is due to travel to the United States. Ben Chilwell was also omitted, while Christopher Nkunku, whose future at Chelsea has also been called into question, was named among the 28-player group.

Meanwhile, Chelsea also confirmed that Jadon Sancho has returned to Manchester United after the option to make his loan deal permanent was not exercised. Sancho had confirmed his Chelsea exit in a post on social media last week.