Sterling’s Chelsea Future In Doubt, Pundits Criticise His Statement

LONDON, Aug 19 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Raheem Sterling’s Chelsea future is in doubt after new boss Enzo Maresca said he plans to clear up the former England winger’s situation in the coming days, reported the German news agency (dpa).

Sterling was left out of the Blues squad for Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester City. His representatives released a statement questioning the decision, a move which did not go down well with some former players.

“The only thing I can say is that it has been a technical decision,” said Maresca afterwards. “In the next days we will review it and clarify the situation.

“At the moment, all the players are Chelsea players. If they are going be Chelsea players, we are going to try and use them.

“I want Raheem Sterling, but I also want all the players we have. However, there is no space for all of them. So, some of them will have to leave.”

Sterling joined Chelsea from City in 2022 and has made 81 appearances, scoring 19 goals.

But the 29-year-old could be the next victim of Chelsea’s oversized squad which currently consists of 42 players.

However, the statement from Sterling’s camp, released just before the kick-off and calling for “further clarity” on his future, was met with criticism.

Sky Sports pundit and ex-City defender Micah Richards said: “We’ve all been left out, haven’t we?

“We’ve all wanted to put statements out. Sterling and his team know exactly what they’re doing. They’re trying to make noise.

“The issue with Chelsea is, there is already a lot of noise around the club. Everyone is talking about the players, the ownership, and even guessing about Chelsea’s starting XI.

“Releasing that statement before the game is not helpful. That is not going to help your teammates and his case for getting back in the team.”

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp added: “He hasn’t been great since he’s been at Chelsea and come into games, he hasn’t been good enough.

“So if the manager doesn’t want to play you, you just get on with it. You don’t get your representatives to do that, especially on the day of a game. I think that’s absolute rubbish.”

Maresca also defended his decision to appoint Enzo Fernandez as captain, despite the racism storm caused by a video the Argentinian posted on social media after the Copa America.

“The reason is that  I see his teammates recognising him as a reference and as a captain. He was already a captain in the pre-season when we changed Reece (James) during a game,” said the Italian.

“All of us make mistakes. It’s important to recognise Enzo did a mistake, recognised the mistake, and it’s finished. At the end it’s nothing important.”

-- BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa