In full: Chelsea’s initial 29-man squad for USA pre-season tour as nine players left in England

Chelsea have confirmed their 29-man squad for their United States pre-season, with nine players left at home initially.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s side boarded the flight on Monday afternoon to the United States ahead of their five fixtures over the next couple of weeks against Wrexham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund.

Thiago Silva and Andrey Santos were pictured sitting next to each other, while Under-21 European Championship winner Noni Madueke sat himself down next to Raheem Sterling on the flight.

Destination: 🇺🇸

Thiago Silva on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/VGAM4Iz0zB

— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) July 17, 2023

After taking off, Chelsea confirmed the squad as they flew over the Atlantic Ocean.

Confirmed 29-man squad

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Gabriel Slonina, Lucas Bergstrom, Eddie Beach, Jamie Cumming

Defenders: Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Malo Gusto, Bashir Humphreys, Levi Colwill, Ian Maatsen, Alfie Gilchrist

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, Cesare Casadei, Lewis Hall

Midfielders: Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Mason Burstow, Dujuan Richards (training only)

Who was not on the plane and why?

Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will return to Cobham on Tuesday as Chelsea look to finalise their departures.

Enzo Fernandez was named in the 29-man squad but will join up with the Chelsea squad in the USA as he flies directly from Argentina, according to ESPN.

Chelsea confirmed Reece James will fly to the USA once he is feeling better after reporting feeling unwell on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana is being assessed because of a knee injury. Marcus Bettinelli, Benoit Badiashile and Armando Broja will all stay back at Cobham to ‘continue their respective recoveries from injury’.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu could both be leaving the club and therefore remain in England.. Fulham want Hudson-Odoi and have seen an initial offer rejected, while a £7 million plus add-ons fee has been agreed with Leeds United for Ampadu.