news-engine

Final decisions have been made over the numbers players will wear on the back of their shirts for the upcoming campaign. Chelsea have confirmed the squad numbers for the 2026/27 season, with a few surprise changes. Most players who were in the Chelsea squad last season have kept their shirt numbers for the new season. Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Wesley Fofana, Dario Essugo, and Tosin Adarabioyo are among the few exceptions. The Brazil international has switched from number 20 to the number 9 shirt, which was previously worn by Liam Delap, who has been assigned the number 12 this time. Fofana, on the other hand, has taken over the number three shirt, which was vacant after Marc Cucurella’s transfer to Real Madrid. This leaves the number 29 open for summer signing Pep Chavarria. Adarabioyo, on the other hand, has been handed the number 38 shirt, while the number four he previously wore now belongs to summer signing Valentin Barco. Two other summer signings, Marco Palestra and Maxence Lacroix, also get to wear single-digit numbers, two and five, respectively. Benoit Badiashile previously wore Lacroix’s number five shirt. Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and Marc Guiu, who were left out of the pre-season, have not been assigned squad numbers this season. Dario Essugo switched from number 14 to 16. New arrival Jordan Henderson will wear number 14 instead. Club-record signing Morgan Rogers will wear the number 17 previously worn by Andrey Santos, who joined Manchester United. A few academy stars, Reggie Watson, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli and Tayo Subuloye, have also been given squad numbers: 31, 32, and 37, respectively. It remains unclear whether the three have been officially promoted to the first team. However, given their strong performance during the pre-season tour in Australia and Asia, it would not be surprising if they get more first-team chances under Xabi Alonso this season. In full: 2026/27 Chelsea squad numbers 1 - Robert Sanchez 2 - Marco Palestra 3 - Wesley Fofana 4 - Valentin Barco 5 - Maxence Lacroix 6 - Levi Colwill 7 - Pedro Neto 8 - Enzo Fernandez 9 - Joao Pedro 10 - Cole Palmer 11 - Jamie Gittens 12 - Liam Delap 14 - Jordan Henderson 15 - Nicolas Jackson 16 - Dario Essugo 17 - Morgan Rogers 18 - Danny Welbeck 19 - Mamadou Sarr 21 - Jorrel Hato 22 - Emmanuel Emegha 23 - Geovany Quenda 24 - Reece James 25 - Moises Caicedo 27 - Malo Gusto 28 - Teddy Sharman-Lowe 29 - Pep Chavarria 30 - Aaron Anselmino 31 - Reggie Watson 32 - Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli 33 - Mykhailo Mudryk 34 - Josh Acheampong 37 - Tayo Subuloye 38 - Tosin Adarabioyo 39 - Mike Penders 41 - Estevao Willian 44 - Gaga Slonina 45 - Romeo Lavia