Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has stood firm on his decision to exclude Raheem Sterling from his first-team plans.
Sterling was absent from the squad that faced Manchester City on Sunday, along with former vice-captain Ben Chilwell. Although Sterling still has three years left on his contract after joining from Manchester City two years ago, it seems he is not in Maresca’s future plans. Maresca, who took over from Mauricio Pochettino earlier this summer, has already begun to reshape the squad, with nine new signings and 13 departures.
That number may rise as Maresca has made it clear that Sterling and Chilwell are free to leave the club. In their place, he is placing his trust in players like Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez, with the latter even being named captain against City despite the controversy surrounding him after the Copa America.
“These things happen often. A manager has to make decisions, and sometimes players don’t like it, which is normal. It’s purely a technical decision, nothing more. We’ll see what happens in the coming days,” Maresca told Sky Sports regarding his decision to leave out Sterling and Chilwell.
“At the moment, none of the players are 100% fit, which is the case for all teams. Nicolas [Jackson] is improving, Cole [Palmer] is improving. Pedro [Neto] arrived a few days ago, so he needs a bit more time. Hopefully, we can give him some minutes soon.
“Enzo [Fernandez] is one of the captains. He’s not the only captain, but he is today. I can see that his teammates respect him as a player and as a person. We all make mistakes sometimes. The important thing is to recognize them and move on.”
