Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell among group of around 15 players training away from Chelsea's first-team squad; "They are not working with me. I don't see them," says Enzo Maresca; summer signing Pedro Neto takes No 7 shirt off Sterling, who wants to stay in the Premier League
Friday 23 August 2024 15:56, UK
Enzo Maresca says Raheem Sterling is training away from Chelsea's first team and is not in his plans as the head coach "prefers a different kind of winger".
Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for Sterling just two years after he joined from Manchester City for £50m in 2022.
Maresca informed the 29-year-old last Friday that he was not in his plans this season and he was left out of the squad that lost to City last Sunday, as well as the team preparing to face Servette on Thursday.
Sterling's No 7 shirt has also been given to summer signing Pedro Neto, who wore the No 19 shirt on his debut against Manchester City on Sunday.
Before the match against City, Sterling's representatives released a statement asking for "clarity" over the winger's future - a move that Jamie Carragher called "ridiculous".
Sterling's representatives held talks with Chelsea at the end of last season and all signs led him to believe he would be staying this season, but it now appears the England international could have played his final game for the club.
Ahead of their Conference League play-off first leg at home to Servette, Maresca said: "I'm not saying Raheem is not a good player but I prefer a different kind of winger."
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
Sterling wants to stay in the Premier League.
Moving to Saudi Arabia is not an option for him at the moment as his family are settled in England and he wants to play for his country again.
Open and honest dialogue is now required to find him a new club in a permanent deal.
Unlike many other players, Sterling's Chelsea contract does not have a clause that reduces his salary if the club are not in the Champions League.
Ben Chilwell - who was Chelsea's vice-captain last season - is also training away from the first-team squad and Maresca added: "The situation with both of them is quite clear. There is not any update.
"We have a big squad and it is impossible to give all of them minutes, so probably it is better to leave.
"Brutal? I just try to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before the City game and said he is going to struggle to get minutes with us.
"Chilwell is a lovely guy but because of his position he is going to struggle with us."
Chelsea have implemented a policy of handing lengthy contracts to new signings since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover in 2022, meaning Sterling - for whom Juventus contacted the Blues last month - still has three years remaining on his deal.
But during a punchy press conference ahead of only his second game in charge, Maresca insisted he is not fazed by the potential for unwanted players to be stuck at the club, saying: "This is not my problem.
"I am here to take decisions and think the best for us. I am not thinking about how many years are on the contracts.
"They have a 20-year contract? I don't care. It's not my job."
Sterling and Chilwell are among a group of around 15 players who are training away from Chelsea's first team as the club seeks to resolve their futures before the transfer window closes on August 30.
Maresca revealed he has no interaction with that group of players and insisted the situation is "not a mess", saying: "I'm working with 21, 22 players. I'm not working with 42, 43 players.
"I can see you like to say we have 43 players but more than 15 players are training apart. They are not working with me every day. I don't see them. It's not a mess like it looks from outside."
Sterling is not the only Chelsea player to lose his shirt number with Trevor Chalobah's No 14 handed to new summer signing Joao Felix.
The defender has been told in face-to-face talks that he is not in Maresca's plans for next season.
Felix wore the No. 14 shirt on loan at Barcelona last season. He had the No. 11 shirt when he was on loan at Chelsea 18 months ago.
Chelsea's No. 9 shirt remains unallocated as the club continue to work on signing a new striker.
It is anticipated that any fans who bought a 19 Neto shirt can exchange it for a 7 Neto shirt.
Despite having a large number of players they are looking to move on this month, Chelsea Felix became Chelsea's 10th signing of the summer on Wednesday when he arrived from Atletico Madrid.
The 24-year-old - who has signed a six-year deal with the option for a further 12 months - rejoins for a fee of up to £46.3m, two seasons after a loan spell at Stamford Bridge.
Felix will have plenty of competition at Stamford Bridge, joining a squad including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu.
Chelsea also still have Sterling, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Angelo Gabriel, Deivid Washington and David Fofana, but several of those players could move on before the August 30 deadline.
But Chelsea may not be done in the window, with a striker now set to be targeted. Victor Osimhen has been a target all summer but Chelsea will not sign the Napoli striker on a permanent deal as things stand.
The Serie A club are interested in signing Lukaku and made a loan offer with an obligation to buy worth £25.5m earlier this week.
With Lukaku and Broja - who is set to join Ipswich - not in Maresca's plans, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu are the only No 9s currently in his squad.
Jackson scored 14 Premier League goals in his debut season but is not a clinical finisher, underperforming his expected goals total by 4.64, while Guiu has made eight senior appearances in his career.
Felix's arrival came just hours after Conor Gallagher finally completed his £36m move to Atletico from Chelsea.
The midfielder's move originally stalled and he had to travel back from Madrid when Chelsea's signing of Atletico forward Samu Omorodion fell through.
But Gallagher - who had less than 12 months remaining on his Chelsea contract after turning down a new two-year deal - committed to Atletico until 2029 and trained with his new team-mates on Wednesday.
The departure of an academy graduate has upset a portion of Chelsea's fans - many of whom sang his name against City - but Maresca again insisted the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules pushed the club into cashing in on homegrown players.
"It's not only for Chelsea. Many clubs are selling players from their academies," said the Italian.
"It's very sad. In Italy we had [Francesco] Totti and he played with Roma for 20 years. We all loved that.
"But now the rules are a bit different and sometimes you need to sell your academy players for 100 per cent profit. We need to try to respect the rules."
Asked if the fans would understand Chelsea's reasoning for selling a player who captained the side in more than half of their games last season, Maresca said: "This question is for the fans. I don't know."
One homegrown player who is in Maresca's plans is Reece James, with the head coach confirming the right-back will remain his captain once he returns from injury.
