Chelsea can still register Cole Palmer for Conference League campaign thanks to UEFA rule
Chelsea will still be able to register Cole Palmer for their Conference League squad despite initially excluding him.
The Blues submitted their 27-man squad to UEFA at midnight on Wednesday, including new signings like Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto.
Although Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei were initially surplus to requirements, they have remained at Chelsea and feature in the squad.
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But in an extremely surprising omission, talisman Palmer has been left out along with Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.
Despite being Chelsea's best player last season, where he had 40 goal contributions and won the PFA Player of the Year award, Palmer has been cut from the squad due to "load management" with all the competitions Chelsea are are participating in.
He will therefore not be eligible to play in any of the six games in the revamped 36-team league, where Chelsea are slated to face Gent, Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers either home or away.
The former Manchester City man started in both qualifying play-off fixtures against Swiss side Servette, where Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate.
And though he was left out, it doesn't mean his European football exploits for the season are done.
According to Nizaar Kinsella of the BBC, UEFA rules stipulate that the Blues can make three changes to their squad on 6 February.
It means Palmer can effectively be brought in for the knockout stages should Chelsea progress.
The same applies to Ben Chilwell, who is still currently a Chelsea player but completely out of favour under Enzo Maresca.
Palmer, who scored in the Euro 2024 final against Spain, is currently injured and was one of three England players to withdraw from Lee Carsley's latest squad.
He has been struggling with a hamstring issue and Chelsea's official website said he has pulled out “to continue rehabilitation for ongoing issues for the remainder of this international break”.
Topics: Chelsea, Cole Palmer, Europa Conference League
Josh Lawless