Aubameyang dropped from Chelsea Champions League squad

• Chelsea has had the busiest transfer window in January, bringing on board nine players
• The Blues are still in the UEFA Champions League and are set to compete in the knock-out changes
• Chelsea boss Graham Potter has been forced to make some changes to his Champions League squad

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has dropped striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the UEFA Champions League squad, with newcomers Joao Felix, Enzo Fernandez, and Mykhailo Mudryk added to the team.

The sudden decision to fire forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang underscores the striker’s deteriorating status with the Blues, for whom he last started a game in November.

Aubameyang, 33, may have been on Potter’s mind when he warned on Thursday that there would be “awkward” conversations as he finalized his squad for Chelsea’s remaining European campaign.

With only three goals this season in 18 appearances, 10 of which were starts, the former Arsenal and Barcelona front leaves Chelsea without a true striker.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has failed to replicate his best form in Chelsea colours and has been axed from the UEFA Champions League squad. | PHOTO: Goal |

All six of Chelsea’s group-stage matches in the Champions League saw Aubameyang start, and he scored twice against Milan.

Instead, Potter has relied on strikers Joao Felix, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid, and Mudryk, who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk, as well as offensive midfielder Kai Havertz, who has spent the majority of his career as an attacking midfielder.

Another front-line alternative is Raheem Sterling, who is listed on Chelsea’s roster list as a midfielder.

The away leg of Chelsea’s Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund is scheduled for February 15; the home match is scheduled for March 7.

Chelsea will be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the UEFA Champions League after manager Graham Potter dropped the striker from the squad. | PHOTO: Goal |

Given that Chelsea is fading in 10th position in the Premier League, winning that competition appears to be the club’s greatest chance of returning to the Champions League for the upcoming season.

In Potter’s squad for Europe, Joao Felix and Mudryk are joined by fellow January acquisition Fernandez, while four players signed during the mid-season transfer window—Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, and Noni Madueke—do not make the cut.

Chelsea, like all clubs, were only allowed to add three new names to the squad that contested the group stage, with no more than 25 players allowed.

Another notable inclusion was Hakim Ziyech, the winger who looked set to join Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day, only for the deal to collapse late on.