Chelsea tease imminent double transfer as stars 'stripped' of shirt numbers in pre-season friendly

Chelsea have teased their new shirt numbers for the 2026-27 season, suggesting a two members of the first-team squad have been stripped of their spots.Meanwhile, summer signings Maxence Lacroix and Pep Chavarria made their first appearances for the club.What was interesting to note was the shirt numbers both players wore. Lacroix had No5 which is currently owned by Benoit Badiashile and Chavarria had No29 which has belonged to Wesley Fofana for a number of seasons.New shirt number? Maxence Lacroix wore No5 on his Chelsea debutGettyElsewhere, Valentin Barco - who remained an unused substitute - was given the No4 shirt which Tosin Adarabioyo has worn for Chelsea during the pre-season preparations.However, a previous announcement from the Blues suggests Tosin and Badiashile haven’t yet officially been stripped of their shirt numbers.“Supporters should note that during pre-season, the shirt numbers worn by all players may not be representative of their finalised squad numbers for the 2026/27 campaign,” a statement via the club’s official website read at the start of the month.Read More“Further detail on this will be provided in due course.”With that said, Chelsea are expected to announce their squad numbers for the new season before facing Fulham and this weekend’s decision might be a sign of what’s to come.