Chelsea Champions League Squad 2015: Papy Djilobodji Not Named by Jose Mourinho

Chelsea’s new centre-back, Papy Djilobodji, has been omitted from the club’s squad for their upcoming Champions League group matches.

The former Nantes man joined the Blues on the transfer window's final day, but as noted by Sky Sports, the defender has not made it into the squad for their European commitments because the champions have already topped out on "non-locally trained players.”

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It means manager Jose Mourinho will have just six defenders to call upon from his 25-man squad, which includes new signings Baba Rahman, Radamel Falcao, Asmir Begovic and Pedro. Attackers Kenedy and Bertrand Traore have also been selected in the squad ahead of Djilobodji.

Here’s a look at the squad in full, per ChelseaTalk:

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Chelsea's Champions League squad. #CFC pic.twitter.com/JDHcDCjOKo

— ChelseaTalk (@TheBlues_Talk) September 2, 2015"

At first glance, the A list submitted by Chelsea is certainly a little imbalanced. The Blues boss has a plethora of quality attacking options to chose from, but the team's defensive section, which is usually the squad's most packed section, looks as though it’s a couple of injuries or suspensions away from disaster.

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Djilobodji would have definitely added some vital depth to the position, should the aforementioned occur. As we can see here, courtesy of WhoScored.com, the Senegal international was hugely impressive in Ligue 1 last season:

Perhaps Mourinho feels as though an attacking squad will be more beneficial given the calibre of opponent the team will be facing. While every match is difficult in its own right in the Champions League, the Blues would have been very pleased plucking Dynamo Kiev, Porto and Maccabi Tel Aviv out of the hat.

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Those are teams whom Chelsea should be beating, and it’s tough to foresee the Blues taking a step back in any of those clashes. But the defensive side of the XI has been a big concern in the early weeks of the domestic season.

As we can see here, courtesy of Squawka Football, at the back the Blues have been uncharacteristically easy to get the better of:

While players like Kenedy and Traore have bright futures, should Chelsea suffer a couple of injuries in the attacking midfield positions, the aforementioned pair are both hugely unlikely to get near the starting XI. Whereas if Djilobodji was in the squad, should a couple of key players be absent at the back, he would find himself straight in the team.

It’ll be a big disappointment for the player, but something you suspect he was made aware of before agreeing to join the club. It’s a massive gamble on the part of Mourinho too, and despite his synonymity with pragmatic principles and defensive caution, this squad points to a Chelsea side that are likely to play a much more daring style of football in this season’s Champions League.