PFA looking to blow up Chelsea bomb squad

Suraj Radia

• 27 Aug 2024 16:30 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea are under pressure to put an end to their ‘bomb squad’ which has seen as many as 13 first team players exiled and banished from training.

Much has been made of Chelsea’s bloated squad, with Enzo Maresca’s side desperate to offload a number of players before the transfer window closes on Friday.

The likes of Raheem Sterling, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell have been told that they have no future at Stamford Bridge and must train on their own in an effort to force their unwanted stars out the club.

READ MORE: Confirmed! Chelsea's Bomb Squad has its newest member

While Chelsea have not been the only club to deploy such a tactic, the scale of their approach has led to the Blues have attracting the most attention, something which has prompted the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) to step in.

According to the Daily Mail, the PFA want authorities to put a stop to ‘bomb squads’ and have lobbied the Premier League and FIFA to be more strict on preventing clubs from pulling such manoeuvres.

A PFA source described the growing problem as ‘unacceptable’ and the union have been in contact with Chelsea players, among others, to offer assistance.

Chelsea could be violating employment law, according to lawyers

The PFA are understood to have been campaigning in the background for a number of years, believing the Premier League Handbook, which serves as a contract between players and clubs, is too vague on the issue.

Under the ‘duties and obligations of the player’ section, footballers are told they must ‘attend at any reasonable place for the purposes of and to participate in training and match preparation’.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals

They are also told to ‘maintain a high standard of physical fitness at all times’ which the PFA have claimed is too open to interpretation.

The Premier League believe the issue is governed by FIFA, while it has proven to be messy overall, with at least one Chelsea player reportedly being contacted by lawyers who could explore if the treatment violates employment law.

Chelsea, meanwhile, believe they have acted appropriately by having exiled players train together in a specific group led by loan technical coach Carlo Cudicini.

This, they believe, allows players to focus on their futures and avoid any false hope of being integrated back into the first team, with players such as David Datro Fofana, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku all expected to be moved on in the coming days.