Chelsea chiefs decide Raheem Sterling transfer stance after 'rubbish' statement

Chelsea chiefs are reportedly attempting to move Raheem Sterling on before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month. The England winger was left out of the Blues squad for their Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday, with his representatives releasing a statement asking for “clarity” ahead of kick-off.

Chelsea stumped up £50million to sign Sterling from the Premier League champions in 2022 and handed the forward a five-year contract.

But he appears to be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge already, with the west Londoners bringing in a host of signings under owner Todd Boehly.

According to HITC, Chelsea are attempting to offload Sterling this month. Bayern Munich and Juventus have been spoken to, with the Blues indicating they would consider funding a considerable part of his wages.

There is also interest in Sterling from the Saudi Pro League, but the player has shown little desire to move to the Middle East. Meanwhile, interest from Major League Soccer has also been brushed away from the 29-year-old.

After Chelsea had named their squad for the City match, a statement from Sterling’s representatives read: “Our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity. 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.”

The statement was torn apart by pundits, however, with Jamie Redknapp telling Sky Sports: “He must have initiated it. He’s said he’s come back two weeks early - no need to talk about it, just get on with it, play better.

“He hasn’t been great since he’s been at Chelsea. He hasn’t been good enough, so if the manager doesn’t want to play you, you just get on with it.

“I think that is absolute rubbish. He’s got to do better than that, his representatives have got to do better than that. I think that is a really poor statement.”

And Micah Richards had his say on the matter as he explained: “We’ve all been left out haven’t we. We’ve all wanted to put statements out. Raheem and his team know exactly what they’re doing. They’re trying to make noise.

“The thing is with Chelsea already, there is a lot of noise around the club. Everyone is talking about the players, everyone is talking about the ownership, or can we even guess Chelsea’s starting XI.

“Putting that statement out before the game is not good enough. That is not going to help your team-mates or your case for getting back in the team.”