Chelsea boss Graham Potter has explained why he removed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Chelsea’s Champions League squad to accommodate three new signings.

Premier League record signing Enzo Fernandez, winger Mykhailo Mudryk and loan arrival Joao Felix were all added to Chelsea’s 25-man Champions League squad with Aubameyang dropped from the list.

Asked if Aubameyang is still part of his plans, Potter told Sky Sports: “Yeah of course. I had to explain it. It was a tough call because he’s done nothing wrong.

“But we wanted to give minutes to David [Datro Fofana against Fulham] and give him that opportunity. But Pierre is with us, he’ll be with us for the rest of the season, and he’ll be fighting for his place.”

Expanding further at his press conference, Potter said: “I don’t think it’s going to be difficult because Pierre is a professional and of course I understand he’ll be disappointed. It was a tough decision, a tough call, we had three coming in and two had to go out so he was the one that missed out.

“He’s done nothing wrong at all. We wanted to give David some game time today, in terms of seeing where he’s at and giving him that opportunity. I think you saw that one flash that he’s got.

“Pierre’s just unfortunate and he’ll be fighting for his place for the rest of the season.”