Chelsea want to sell Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell as head coach Enzo Maresca denied that the club’s recruitment during recent transfer windows has led to a “mess”.
Maresca confirmed the England internationals are not part of his plans and are training separately.
Sterling, who joined from Manchester City for £50million just two years ago, was told on Friday ahead of the defeat to the Premier League champions that he would not be part of the first-team squad this season and should consider his options, while Chilwell has also been informed that he can leave.
Maresca has divided his squad into two groups, one of 21 or 22 players that he intends to work with and another containing players he considers surplus – with Trevoh Chalobah also understood to be amongst the latter.
“They (Chilwell and Sterling) are in this moment training apart,” said Maresca. “The situation with both of them is quite clear.
“We have a big squad and for me it’s impossible give all of them minutes. If they are looking for minutes, probably it is better to leave.”
Chelsea, who face Swiss side Servette in the Conference League play-off round at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, have spent around £200m on acquisitions this summer, with Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix confirmed as the latest arrival on Wednesday for a fee believed to be £42m.
Felix is the second player signed to compete in Sterling’s position on the wing following the £54m capture of Wolves’ Pedro Neto who, in a further snub to the England international, has been handed Sterling’s number seven shirt.
The 29-year-old’s representatives issued a statement shortly ahead of kick-off against City on Sunday asking for “clarity” on his future, after he was heavily involved during the pre-season tour of the United States and featured in the club’s in-house media build-up to the game.
Chelsea is where he belongs. 🏡
We are delighted to announce the signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. 🇵🇹🔵 pic.twitter.com/k8jF2PNSgV
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 21, 2024
However, by then it had already been made clear to the player that his Chelsea career was effectively over.
“I’m not saying Raheem is not a good player,” said Maresca. “But I prefer a different kind of wingers.
“I just tried to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before City. I said he’s going to struggle to get minutes with us.
“With (Chilwell), I said that he’s a lovely guy but he’s going to struggle. If you define this as brutal, it’s up to you.
“I am not working with 42 players, that is something from outside. I’m working with 21 players. The other 15 or 20, they are training apart.
Thank you, and good luck, Conor. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/LZundZneOl
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 21, 2024
“They are Chelsea players but they are not working with me. I don’t see them. It’s not a mess like it looks from outside, absolutely not.
“You (the media) like to say we are 43 players. But more than 15 players are training apart. They are not with the team.”
Maresca said that it is “sad” that Conor Gallagher has been sold to Atletico Madrid after a £34m deal for the academy graduate went through on Wednesday but that he believes he has options available to fill the hole left by the 24-year-old, who was a stand-out player and captained the side for much of last season.
“It’s not just Chelsea,” he said. “Many clubs in this moment are selling players from the academy. That is very sad. In Italy we had (Francesco) Totti who played with Roma for 20 years. We all love that. But the rules are a bit different now.
“Last year Romeo (Lavia) was not fit but this year he started very well. He can give us, off the ball, a big help. We have Enzo (Fernandez) in terms of personality and character.”
