Sterling ‘has let team-mates down’, but Maresca faces ‘impossible job’

The inevitable problems of Chelsea’s bloated squad started even before the season kicked off, with Raheem Sterling announcing his discontent an hour before their opener against Man City.

Moments after the squad was announced and the forward had been left out, Sterling’s representatives released a statement saying they wanted “clarity” about his role at the club and that they had expected him to be involved.

Chelsea have a 42-man squad according to their club website, with boss Enzo Maresca saying there are 30 players in it.

That includes 11 summer signings.

Only 20 can fit in a matchday squad, so Sterling was among the many names to miss out for the first game of the season against Manchester City, which they lost 2-0.

They became only the second team in Premier League history to hand out four debuts in one game.

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards accused Sterling of “letting his team-mates down” while ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp described the statement as “absolute rubbish”.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, watching for BBC Radio 5 Live, said Sterling “looks to be the next one on the block” at the club, with the futures of Conor Gallagher, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah and Romelu Lukaku all in doubt.

“I want Raheem Sterling but I want all the 30 players we have,” said Maresca, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino this summer.

“But there is no space for all of them. So for some of them, they have to leave.”

This is the first time since 2012 at Liverpool that Sterling has not played on the opening day of a Premier League season.

Maresca called it “a technical decision”, adding: “In the next days we will see if it needs to be clarified.”

Sterling’s time at Chelsea has not gone to plan since his £50m move from Manchester City two years ago.

He has scored nine goals and 10 goals in those two campaigns. Not bad figures for a winger, but the last season he netted fewer than 10 in a season was 2012-13.

On top of that, he has lost his place in the England team, having failed to add to his 82 caps since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

His statement after Sunday’s line-up was announced has ruffled feathers.

Former England defender Richards said: “Raheem and his team know what they are doing. They are trying to make noise.

“Putting that statement out before the game is not good enough. That will not help your team-mates or your case of getting back in the team.

“The manager has not picked him and he needs to deal with it.”

Nevin, who played for the club from 1983 to 1988, wonders if this situation could knock Sterling’s transfer fee down.

“What this situation with Raheem Sterling has done is make him possibly cheaper to buy. He won’t be £100m or £50m. He will be a lot less than that as a club can say they are buying ‘damaged goods’.

“Does it mean he will earn less money? Well, the top words of the statement were ‘Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football club for the next three years’.

“That is code for ‘I am owed that money and I’m not giving it up’. I think this has been clever by the player and his people.”

Chelsea have spent about £185m on 11 signings this summer, adding to a squad that was already considered large.

Academy products Gallagher and Chalobah and striker Lukaku, who cost them £97.5m three years ago, are all training away from the first team.

Chelsea accepted a £33m bid from Atletico Madrid for Gallagher, who captained the club in 24 Premier League games last season.

However, he has been unable to complete his move for now after a deal for striker Samu Omorodion to go in the opposite direction collapsed.

Chalobah is being linked to several Premier League clubs, while Maresca has told England left-back Chilwell that he is allowed to leave this summer too.

Midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka and defender Axel Disasi were among the other players left out against City.

“I think every case is different,” said Maresca afterwards.

“Carney is a very good player. The problem is, because of some injuries in the past, I think the best for him is to play 30 or 35 games in a row, to show himself that he is fit and how good he is. With us, is he going to play 35 games? I’m not sure.”

Co-controlling owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly have spent about £1.5bn on players since taking over just over two years ago, following Roman Abramovich’s successful reign.

Redknapp, speaking on Sky, said: “Maresca’s biggest problem is trying to keep everyone happy. It is virtually impossible.

“Maresca will see so many unhappy faces. The best teams in the world work on 24 or 25 players in the squad. How or why did they think they can reinvent football? They are giving the manager an impossible job.”

If some of these issues sound familiar, former boss Graham Potter had similar challenges during his spell in charge.

The squad he inherited in 2022 was so big that the dressing room reportedly had to be reconfigured to fit more people in, and players had to change in the halls.

Chelsea had to leave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of their squad for the Champions League knockout stages that campaign even after he had started all the group games becuase of the size of their squad.

And that will be another issue for Maresca, who will have to name a squad for the Premier League of 25 players (excluding under-21 players), with at least eight of those considered homegrown.