Chelsea Champions League squad confirmed ahead of Bayern Munich showdown

Chelsea have unveiled their Champions League squad for the group stage following a summer of navigating UEFA's squad balancing restrictions. The Blues, along with Aston Villa, faced additional rules after failing to meet financial regulations last season, resulting in a hefty fine of £27million - which could potentially escalate to over £60m - and other imposed limitations.

In order to comply, Chelsea had to ensure a positive outcome from changes made to their 'A' List from the squad submitted for the knockout stages of the Conference League. This complex situation essentially meant that transfers such as Noni Madueke and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were counted towards their balance, while Armando Broja and Renato Veiga were excluded as they were not part of the squad.

The club have been cautious with their spending, not merely to avoid breaching UEFA's rules, but also to prevent themselves from being unable to register certain new signings. After splashing out on Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao Willian, Liam Delap, Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, and Dario Essugo, there was plenty to add - and no one wants to be left out.

Squads, complete with shirt numbers, birthdays, nationalities, and club doctors, had to be submitted to UEFA by Tuesday night, just a day after the transfer window closed.

UEFA squad regulations stipulate that "no club can have more than 25 players on List 'A' during the season, of whom at least two must be goalkeepers."

Additional requirements state: "As a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players' and no club may have more than four 'association-trained players' listed among those eight places.

"If a club has fewer than eight locally trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List 'A' is reduced accordingly."

A locally trained player must have been "on a club's books for three entire seasons (i.e. the period between the first and last official match of the relevant national championship) or of 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21."

Association-trained players are those who were "on another club's books in the same association for three entire seasons (i.e. the period between the first and last official match of the relevant national championship) or of 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21."

Chelsea have been paired with Bayern Munich, Qarabag, Atalanta, and Napoli in away fixtures during the forthcoming eight-match, 32-team league phase. The Blues will host Benfica, Ajax, Barcelona, and Pafos at Stamford Bridge.

Their opening encounter presents an intriguing clash with Vincent Kompany's Bayern on September 17 in Germany. The match will see Enzo Maresca facing Nicolas Jackson, who remains available for selection following his loan transfer on deadline day.

Chelsea's Champions League squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen

Defenders: Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Jorrel Hato, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana.

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Moises Caicedo

Forwards: Pedro Neto, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Marc Guiu, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho