Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea squad strategy is not a ‘mess’ as Raheem Sterling trains apart
Updated 21/08/2024 at 20:17 GMT+1
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says he has chosen the players he wants involved in his first-team squad and that the rest, including Raheem Sterling, are training separately. Speaking to the media ahead of their UEFA Conference League play-off with Servette, the Italian insisted the club’s transfer strategy is not a “mess” and that he is being “honest” with players he does not need.
'It's not brutal, it’s just honest' - Maresca on omitting Sterling, Chilwell from Chelsea squad
Video credit: SNTV
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says he is being “honest” and not “brutal” by telling players like Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell they are not in his plans, while insisting the club is not in a “mess” regarding its squad size.
On the day Joao Felix completed his return to the club from Atletico Madrid and Conor Gallagher went the other way, the Italian said he had chosen the players he wants to work with and that “more than 15” are training separately.
That number includes Chilwell and Sterling, the latter whose representatives released a statement in the lead-up to Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City, expressing their surprise at the forward’s omission from the matchday squad to face his old club.
The 29-year-old Sterling now seems surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, as does his England team-mate Chilwell, with nine days left until the transfer window closes.
Chelsea and co-owner Todd Boehly have received criticism for spending big money on a vast number of players, but Maresca insists he is free to make his own decisions on who will and will not be involved.
"I spoke with Raheem before Manchester City, I said that he is going to struggle to get minutes with us,” Maresca told a media conference on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of their UEFA Conference League play-off with Servette.
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“With Chilly [Chilwell] I said he is a lovely guy, but with his position, he's going to struggle with us. It's not brutal, it's honest."
"I am not working with 42 players, I am working with 21 players [in training].
“It's not a mess like it looks from outside. The other players can even have 20 years [on their] contract, it is not my point. I don't care."
Maresca did not go into detail on who else was training away from the squad but there are valuable assets who are still on the books, including forward Romelu Lukaku and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
"Until they aren't Chelsea players, they will be Chelsea players," Maresca added.
"We have a big squad, for me it's impossible to give everyone minutes so if they're looking for minutes, probably it is better to leave and in case they don't leave they have a contract here, they are Chelsea players.
"The only thing I can say is that I try to be honest with all of them in this moment, the noise is from outside. More than 15 players, they are training apart, they are not with the team.”
Maresca’s side face Servette in a two-legged tie, starting at Stamford Bridge, either side of a Premier League trip to Wolves on Sunday.
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