Who would have thought that Chelsea having over 40 players on their books could cause friction on matchday.
If Enzo Maresca‘s job at Chelsea wasn’t hard enough already, the Italian has an incredibly bloated squad he must somehow try and keep happy.
But the reality is that he can only select 11 players to start and nine to sit on the bench. The result of that is a lot of Chelsea players being left out.
It was inevitable that team selection would eventually cause issues at Stamford Bridge but for complaints to be arriving before a ball is even kicked is remarkable.
Maresca’s lineup against City included none of the club’s nine summer signings, while Raheem Sterling was also controversially left out of the matchday squad.
Raheem Sterling issues ‘ridiculous’ statement
The hierarchy at Chelsea might start to regret their bizarre transfer strategy after seeing the problems that have arisen already on the first week of the season.
Sterling published a statement after being left out of the matchday squad, which stated the player and his camp “look forward to gaining clarity on the situation” after believing that the 29-year-old would be involved.
As revealed by HITC, Chelsea are looking to offload Sterling and have informed him that he is free to leave the club this summer.
He was the first major signing under Todd Boehly’s ownership in a £50million deal from Manchester City.
Jamie Carragher reacts to Raheem Sterling statement
Carragher was quick to react to Sterling’s statement, branding it “ridiculous”.
Via X, formerly known as Twitter, Carragher wrote “Massive fan of Raheem as a player & a lad. Not a fan of the Chelsea set up with owners etc. But this statement is ridiculous!
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“As a camp………..! We look forward to gaining clarity…….!! No need for a statement, especially an hour before kick off!! Just play better”.
All eyes will now be on Sterling’s future – or lack of it – at Stamford Bridge after being unsettled by Maresca’s selection.
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