Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling begum training at his home as head coach Enzo Maresca made it clear that the Englishman is not part of his plans for the ongoing season, reported The Times.
Chelsea will face Servette in their first match of the Europa Conference League on Thursday and Sterling was not included in the squad after being dropped for the Premier League opener against Manchester City.
Sterling completed his move to Chelsea from Man City for £50m transfer fee two years and 81 matches for the two-time Champions League.
Ahead of the start of the new domestic season, the 29-year-old asked for clarity over his situation at the club after participating in the pre-season. However, Chelsea, who are heavily active in the transfer market, gave Sterling’s shirt number to new signing Pedro Neto.
With two years left on his lucrative £325,000 a-a-week contract, Sterling has no interest in moving to the Saudi Pro League where names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar and others are playing.
“I’m not saying Raheem is not a good player but I prefer different kinds of wingers, this is the reason why,” Maresca said, reported by The Times.
“I didn’t see Raheem after the game [City on Sunday]. He is training apart but in case I sit with Raheem, I will tell him exactly the same things that I already told him. I don’t have anything new to tell him because I was quite clear. I spoke with Raheem one-on-one the day before City and I explained [to] him exactly the situation.”
It is worth mentioning that the Blues have 42 players on their books, making it one of the biggest squads in the world, as the training has been reportedly split with 15 players not part of Chelsea boss.
