cheaterscabaret.com — 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 pernyataan saying they wanted “clarity” about his role at the klub and that they had expected him to be involved.
Chelsea have a 42-man squad according to their klub web, with boss Enzo Maresca saying there are 30 players in it.
That includes 11 summer signings.
Only 20 can bugar in a matchday squad, so Sterling was among the many names to miss out for the first games of the season against Manchester City, which they lost 2-0.
They became only the second tim in Premier League history to hand out four kiprahs in one games.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards akised Sterling of “letting his tim-mates down” while ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp described the pernyataan as “absolute rubbish”.
Former Chelsea pemain sayap Pat Nevin, watching for BBC Radio 5 Live, said Sterling “looks to be the next one on the blok” at the klub, 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 ruang for all of them. So for some of them, they have to leave.”
What now for Sterling?
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 rencana since his £50m move from Manchester City two years ago.
He has scored nine goals and 10 goals respectively in those two kampanyes. Not bad figures for a pemain sayap, but the last season he netted fewer than 10 was 2012-13.
On hebat of that, he has lost his place in the England tim, having failed to add to his 82 caps since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His pernyataan after Sunday’s line-up was announced has ruffled feathers.
Former England defender Richards said: “Raheem and his tim know what they are doing. They are trying to make noise.
“Putting that pernyataan out before the games is not good enough. That will not help your tim-mates or your case of getting back in the tim.
“The manajer has not picked him and he needs to setuju with it.”
Nevin, who played for the klub 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 klub can say they are buying ‘damaged goods’.
“Does it mean he will earn less money? Well, the hebat words of the pernyataan were ‘Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football klub for the next three years’.
“That is kode 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.”
Sterling just one of many with uncertain future
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 penyerang Lukaku, who biaya them £97.5m three years ago, are all pelatihan away from the first tim.
Chelsea accepted a £33m bid from Atletico Madrid for Gallagher, who captained the klub in 24 Premier League game last season.
However, he has been unable to complete his move for now after a setuju for penyerang 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 masalah is, because of some injuries in the past, I think the best for him is to play 30 or 35 game in a row, to show himself that he is bugar and how good he is. With us, is he going to play 35 game? 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 masalah is trying to keep everyone bahagia. It is virtually impossible.
“Maresca will see so many unhappy faces. The best tims 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 manajer an impossible job.”
If some of these issues sound familier, 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 bugar 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 kampanye even after he had started all the grup game 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.