Where Chelsea's 13-man 'bomb squad' are now including Arsenal flop and £97m star

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca brutally discarded 13 players when he arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer. Each estranged star trained away from the first team and was told to find a new club, with Maresca's senior squad determined to be too bloated. Express Sport looks at where each of the 13 players are now.

Raheem Sterling

Sterling spent last season on loan at Arsenal but failed to make anything like the impact Mikel Arteta hoped for. Remarkably, the 30-year-old remains a Chelsea player. However, there is almost zero chance of him featuring for the Blues again.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku was still a Chelsea player this time last year. Three years on from his £97.5m move from Inter Milan, the Belgian went on to sign a permanent deal with Napoli later that summer. Out of all Chelsea players, only Cole Palmer scored more league goals last season than Lukaku's 14 in Serie A.

Ben Chilwell

Maresca warned Chilwell that his inability to play as an inverted left-back would rule him out of playing regularly for Chelsea. After a difficult first half of the season, the England international joined Crystal Palace on loan. Despite helping the Eagles win the FA Cup, he did not do enough to convince them to complete a permanent switch.

Trevoh Chalobah

Chilwell joined Palace just after Chalobah's loan at the same Premier League club was cut short. With Chelsea struggling with an injury crisis, the centre-back returned to Stamford Bridge and played well. However, he expected to depart this summer.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

An influx of new goalkeepers left Arrizabalaga exiled from the first-team. He joined Bournemouth on loan and has now signed a permanent deal with Arsenal. The Spaniard will compete with international team-mate David Raya next season.

Armando Broja

A horror knee injury suffered in late 2022 has stalled Broja's development. Having shown plenty of promise on loan at Southampton the season before, no subsequent move has worked out for the Albania international. With several teams desperate for a striker, there will surely be options for Broja this summer. That is despite Chelsea reportedly valuing him at around £30m.

Deivid Washington

Washington signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea when he arrived from Santos in 2023. The 20-year-old was surprisingly placed in the bomb squad last summer, although it was said that the Blues did not want to lose the forward permanently. In January, he rejoined his former club in a temporary move until December.

Angelo Gabriel

Chelsea signed Angelo for £13m in 2023 but he never played for the club. He spent the subsequent season on loan at sister club Strasbourg before joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr for £19m in September 2024.

David Datro Fofana

Fofana spent last season on loan at Goztepe but returned in February. He remains a Chelsea player and has struggled to find a club this summer.

Lucas Bergstrom

Giant academy graduate Bergstrom suffered from the additions of several new goalkeepers. The 22-year-old was released this summer so is not part of this year's bomb squad. He was quickly snapped up by La Liga side Mallorca.

Tino Anjorin

Much was expected of Anjorin when he broke into the Chelsea first team under Frank Lampard. However, his progress stalled and he had a number of loan spells in the EFL. After being told that he had no future at Stamford Bridge, the attacking midfielder joined Empoli last summer. The 23-year-old recently moved to Serie A club Torino on loan.

Alex Matos

Matos signed from Norwich in 2023 and went straight into Chelsea's senior squad under Mauricio Pochettino. However, Maresca does not seem too keen on the 20-year-old midfielder. He spent last season on loan at Oxford and has returned to West London to find himself unwanted again. Norwich have been linked with re-signing their former player.

Harvey Vale

Once a highly-regarded member of Chelsea's academy who made his debut under Thomas Tuchel, Vale was released this summer after failing to impress Maresca. The 21-year-old midfielder joined Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer.