Chelsea make one change to Champions League squad as one new transfer comes in at the expense of another | OneFootball

With the league phase starting tonight, this morning is the last opportunity for clubs to tweak their Champions League squads, and it appears Chelsea have done just that.

A glance at the competition’s website shows that the Blues have added summer loan signing from Brighton Facundo Buonanotte to their list, following his debut in the Premier League on Saturday night.

His addition comes at the expense of Dario Essugo, who has undergone surgery on a thigh injury since the initial list was announced. He looks set to be out until December, so would miss the bulk of the league phase regardless.

He can be added back to the group if Chelsea qualify for the knockout phase.

Chelsea squad already stretched thin

Chelsea add Facundo Buonanotte to Champions League squad.

It’s a far from ideal situation for Chelsea. They get an extra body in there, but the balance of the squad is really off without Essugo. He’s our only midfield option who can replace Moises Caicedo in terms of physicality and defensive nous.

Buonanotte is an attacking midfielder, and there are a few of those players in the squad already. Essugo is a more useful profile to us.

We desperately need Romeo Lavia back and fit again, but even with him there it’s going to be a tough few months in terms of midfield rotation.

Buonanotte gets his Champions League chance

This at least gives Buonanotte a chance to shine. It had felt awkward that he was signed with hopes of playing in this competition then was left off the list – he’s now back in there and will get his chance.

He was pretty solid in his first 45 minutes in a Blue shirt on Saturday, although facing the likes of Bayern Munich tomorrow is going to be significantly more difficult than Brentford.