Chelsea add 33 players to Maresca squad as drastic UCL plan emerges

Chelsea have added 33 players to their Champions League squad ahead of their clash with Ajax on Wednesday night - with a number of youngsters included among their additions

Chelsea have bolstered their Champions League squad with a whopping 33 new youngsters ahead of tonight's clash against Ajax. Among the fresh faces added to their B list are the offspring of former Blues defender Thiago Silva, Isago, and Michael Emenalo's son, Landon.

Promising talents such as Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Ibrahim Rabbaj and Shim Mheuka also make the cut. The rules allow clubs to add an unlimited number of players born on, or after, 1 January 2004 to their B list the night before the match.

According to The Daily Mail, Chelsea have formalised a mass addition of academy stars to avoid having to include them individually before future matches. That means that if necessary, Enzo Maresca can pack his matchday squad with players from their B list.

Tonight, Chelsea will welcome Ajax to west London, aiming for consecutive victories in the marquee competition. Maresca's men lost to Bayern Munich in their opening game, before narrowly missing out against Benfica last time.

They'll be without Joao Pedro due to suspension, which could see Marc Guiu making his first start of the season since his loan spell at Sunderland was cut short. The striker came off the bench at half-time in Saturday's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Guiu was recalled from his move at the Stadium of Light following Liam Delap's hamstring injury. He also made an appearance in the 2-1 win over Liverpool prior to the international break.

"We trust Marc, we trust him already last year, he was always playing in the Conference League, we also gave him some Premier League games, so we are sure in the past that we trust Marc, now he's again with us, and he's going to play the games for sure," Maresca said on Tuesday.

Here is Chelsea's Champions League squad in full - following their new additions;

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Jack Austin (B), Hudson Sands (B), Toby Bell (B).

Defenders: Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Jorell Hato, Reece James, Genesis Antwi (B), Richard Olise (B), Harrison Murray-Campbell (B), Kobe Barbour (B), Harry McGlinchey (B), Kaiden Wilson (B), Olutayo Subuloye (B), Joseph Wheeler-Henry (B), Calvin Diakite (B), Isago Silva (B), Lewi Richards (B), Dante Waite (B).

Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Dario Essugo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, Sam Rak-Sakyi (B), Jimi Tauriainen (B), Harrison McMahon (B), Leo Cardoso (B), Landon Emenalo (B), Sol Gordon (B), Ollie Harrison (B), Yahya Idrissi-Regreagui (B), Frankie Ruhman (B), Shaun Wade (B), Charles Holland (B), Jeremiah Berkeley-Agyepong (B), Ibrahim Rabbaj (B).

Attackers: Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian, Ato Ampah (B), Shum Mheuka (B), Chizaram Ezenwata (B), Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (B), Joel Vidal-Phillbert (B).