Chelsea squad: Confirmed shirt numbers for 2023/24
- Chelsea have been very active in the transfer market
- A glut of players have changed the digits on their backs
- Every new signing's confirmed squad number in 2023/24
By Euan Burns
If there is any club where squad numbers could be a bit of a mystery at the moment, it's Chelsea.
After the huge influx of purchases last summer and in January 2023, the opposite has happened in the summer of 2023. Loads of senior players have been sold by Chelsea as they look to trim the wage bill and general squad size, partly for Financial Fair Play but also for sporting reasons.
It has not all been sales, as legions of players have come through the door at Chelsea, prompting an overhaul of squad numbers for the coming campaign.
Here are Chelsea's squad numbers for the 2023/24 season.
Chelsea squad numbers 2023/24
Robert Sanchez has swooped in to take the number one shirt after Kepa Arrizabalaga moved to Real Madrid on loan, but that's not the only significant change to Chelsea's jerseys this season.
Raheem Sterling has jumped into the number seven, Enzo Fernandez has switched from five to eight and Mykhailo Mudryk has been bestowed with the number ten. However, no incoming player fancied taking the striker's nine shirt.
Number | Player |
|---|---|
1 | Robert Sanchez |
2 | Axel Disasi |
3 | Marc Cucurella |
5 | Benoit Badiashile |
6 | Thiago Silva |
7 | Raheem Sterling |
8 | Enzo Fernandez |
10 | Mykhailo Mudryk |
11 | Noni Madueke |
13 | Marcus Bettinelli |
14 | Treboh Chalobah |
15 | Nicolas Jackson |
16 | Lesley Ugochukwu |
17 | Carney Chukwuemeka |
18 | Christopher Nkunku |
19 | Armando Broja |
20 | Cole Palmer |
21 | Ben Chilwell |
23 | Conor Gallagher |
24 | Reece James |
25 | Moises Caicedo |
26 | Levi Colwill |
27 | Malo Gusto |
28 | Dorde Petrovic |
29 | Ian Maatsen |
33 | Wesley Fofana |
36 | Deivid Washington |
45 | Romeo Lavia |
Chelsea squad numbers available to new signings
Ahead of the 2022/23 season, Chelsea's then-head coach Thomas Tuchel revealed that "nobody wants to touch" the number nine shirt. "It's cursed!" Tuchel half-joked. "People tell me it's cursed!"
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang didn't buy into the stigma but managed just one Premier League goal all season, adding more evidence to the shirt's menacing mythos. Going into the 2023/24 campaign, perhaps unsurprisingly, there have been no takers for the number nine.
The other available digits do not appear to have been shunned for superstitious reasons.
- 4
- 9
- 12
- 22
- 30
- 31
- 32
What numbers can Premier League players wear?
The rules when it comes to Premier League shirt numbers are pretty relaxed, as any number between one and 99 is allowed as long as it is unique within the squad. There are traditions at play, as it is generally expected that numbers 1-30 will be taken up by first-team players.
Manchester City youngster Rico Lewis holds the record for the highest number in Premier League history, turning out in the number 82. It is also traditional for goalkeepers to wear between 1-13, but not a rule. The number zero is not allowed.
Can Premier League players change squad numbers?
Premier League players are only allowed to change their squad number during pre-season or if one is sold or loaned to another club in the January transfer window.
Clubs must submit their confirmed squad list - including shirt numbers - by a specified deadline each year and numbers cannot be changed thereafter. In 2021 that deadline was 1 September.
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