Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea need to make “tough” decision to streamline their “massive” and “unbalanced” squad.

Chelsea took 29 players on their pre-season tour of the United States and Pochettino wants to trim his squad ahead of the new season.

Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah could all be sold despite impressing in the 1-1 friendly draw with Newcastle in Atlanta.

Speaking after the Newcastle game, Pochettino said: “We are 29 players here and the squad is massive. It is about creating a squad with good balance and people who can play and can compete for their place.

“That is a big job and the challenge for us in the transfer window to build a good relationship and good balance. If players are not happy because they believe they are not going to play, we are going to find a solution with the club and fix the situation.

“We cannot have a massive squad, players not involved and then it’s going to create a mess. Maybe less is more and more is less. That is why I need to make clear we don’t need a big squad.

“We need 22, 23, 24 players with some younger ones and that’s it. I am so sorry because maybe the decision will be tough but we need to build a good and balanced team who want to compete for things.”