Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling will not face Manchester City (Picture: Getty)
Raheem Sterling is seeking ‘clarity’ over his role at Chelsea after being left out of Enzo Maresca’smatchday squad for the club’s Premier League opener against Manchester City this afternoon.
The 29-year-old forward was expecting to be selected for the Stamford Bridge clash – after scoring home and away against City last season – but was one of many notable absentees as Chelsea unveiled their 20-man group to face Pep Guardiola’s champions.
The likes of Conor Gallagher, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja and Ben Chilwell will also miss the clash, with all four players rumoured to be on their way out of Chelsea before the transfer deadline.
Sterling completed a £47.5million move to west London back in 2022 but has badly struggled to live up to that price-tag across two underwhelming campaign with the Blues.
In his debut season, Sterling managed just nine goals in 38 games and the forward only managed to better that tally by one last term as the club finished trophyless under Mauricio Pochettino.
Maresca had labelled Sterling an ‘important player’ in pre-season and there has been a feeling the England international could get his stuttering career back on track under the new head coach.
But Sterling’s shock omission has thrown his future into doubt and the attacker is keen for clarification on his position in the squad.
The England international played in all six of Chelsea’s pre-season matches (Picture: Getty)
‘Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years,’ Sterling’s camp told Mail Sport.
‘He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.
‘He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.
Maresca is hoping to get off the best possible start against champions City (Picture: Getty)
‘As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.
‘Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.’
In his pre-match interview with Sky Sports, Maresca said it was simply a ‘technical decision’ to omit Sterling and Chilwell from his squad to take on City.
Sterling scored just eight league goals last season (Picture: Getty)
‘It happens many times. The manager is there, he has to make some decisions,’ the Italian said.
‘Sometimes people don’t like [the decisions], players don’t like. That is normal.
‘But it’s just a technical decision and no more than that. We will see in the next days.’
Sterling’s omission was a ‘technical decision’, says Maresca (Picture: Getty)
Sterling, who did not make the cut for Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, is tied into a contract at Chelsea until 2027.
Speaking in the week, Sterling said he was hopeful Maresca would be able to get the best out of him and there were ‘good times ahead’ after two disappointing seasons in west London.
‘Maresca can get the best out of me, the best out of the team. He has come in and stamped his authority, the way he wants to play,’ Sterling said.
‘Yes, some of the results haven’t been pleasing but, with the ball, the right information is getting passed on. You can see the patterns coming through.
‘It is early days so you can see where we’re looking to go. It is a learning process for the whole group and one we are grasping really quickly.
‘The Premier League is coming along very soon so I do think there are good times ahead.’
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