Not just Sterling: £50m star will likely now never play for Chelsea again
Would Chelsea improve this season? That was the million dollar heading into the new campaign.
A clash against Manchester City is hardly an ideal litmus test on the opening weekend but it's fair to say that the Blues certainly do not help themselves.
Robert Sanchez was preferred in goal, a decision that backfired after he made a lacklustre attempt to keep former Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic out. Of course it was him, one of the players sold to fund the lavish spending throughout Todd Boehly's tenure in London.
Perhaps they should have kept the Croat? We jest, of course, but you do have to question the transfer strategy.
Despite the hefty recruitment drive this summer they still lack a centre-forward who fills you with too much confidence.
Nicolas Jackson was hauled off having had fewer touches than the aforementioned Sanchez and you can hardly place your faith in 18-year-old Marc Guiu just yet.
Victor Osimhen, anyone? That would be the dream but it would require another hefty fee. The strange thing is that Chelsea do have some good players, some great players in fact. One of them, or rather, plenty of them weren't in the squad.
Axel Disasi
Raheem Sterling
Trevoh Chalobah
Carney Chukwuemeka
Ben Chilwell
Conor Gallagher
Reece James (suspension)
Dorde Petrovic
Cesare Casadei
Tyrique George
Josh Acheampong
Deivid Washington
Omari Kellyman
Angelo Gabriel
Marcus Bettinelli
Lucas Bergstrom
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Bashir Humphreys
Tino Anjorin
Armando Broja
David Datro Fofana
Romelu Lukaku
We want to focus on Raheem Sterling and one of his fellow countrymen.
Why Sterling was left out of the squad
When the Chelsea squad was announced for the visit of Pep Guardiola's men on Sunday there was one glaring admission.
There was no room for Sterling in the entire matchday squad, let alone in the starting lineup. Considering the sheer volume of players at Enzo Maresca's disposal, someone was always going to miss out but it was a shock to see Sterling – one of the Premier League's highest earners – exiled from proceedings.
1. Kevin De Bruyne
£400k
2. Casemiro
£350k
3. Mohammed Salah
£350k
4. Raheem Sterling
£325k
5. Kai Havertz
£280k
6. Heung-min Son
£190k
So, why was he left out? Well, Maresca had his say after the game, commenting: "It’s just a technical decision, nothing else to say. Managers are paid to make decisions and sometimes players don’t like it."
The former Man City star was told of the decision on Friday and one now has to wonder what the future holds for him in west London, particularly with the club's hierarchy reportedly backing the decision to leave him out.
Maresca further stated that he "wants" Sterling but some of the squad "have to leave."
Interesting indeed, as was the statement that the winger's camp released just an hour before kick-off. Yeah, it wasn't ideal preparation for a Premier League opener, was it?
It's safe to say there's never a dull moment at the Bridge with Boehly at the wheel, but Sterling isn't the only one who may well never play for the club again.
Who could follow Sterling through the exit door?
Well, as we know, Chelsea are looking to force through exits for Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah. Striker Armando Broja continues to be linked with a move away too.
Yet, we want to focus on another of Chelsea's high-earners here, Ben Chilwell.
The left-back missed out on the England squad for Euro 2024 and after playing just 64 minutes under Maresca throughout pre-season was among the crop of players exiled from the squad on Sunday afternoon.
Marc Cucurella – one of the stars of that aforementioned European Championships – started at left-back and when he had to come off it was new signing Renato Veiga who came on.
All of the above would likely suggest that Chilwell, the holder of 106 Chelsea appearances, has played his last game for the club.
The £50m signing has battled with fitness right throughout his stint in the capital and it looks as though the end is nigh.
Bizarrely, Manchester United are reportedly interested in his services despite possessing another injury-prone full-back in Luke Shaw. Even if the Red Devils don't bring him in, it's likely he'll find a suitor elsewhere.
Sadly for the sake of PSR, it's unlikely they'll get anything close to the mammoth fee they shelled out when signing him from Leicester City.
There are just under two weeks of the window remaining and despite a busy and dramatic window, it still looks like there are some key details to iron out and finalise. Oh to be on that recruitment team at Chelsea.
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