Maresca Fights For Sterling's Stay Amidst Chelsea's Need To Trim Squad

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Enzo Maresca expressed his desire for Raheem Sterling to remain at Stamford Bridge but admitted Chelsea needs to reduce their large squad. Sterling was left out of the matchday squad as Chelsea began their 2024-25 Premier League season with a 2-0 loss to Manchester City. The England international had played in the first match of the last 11 league seasons for Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool.

Before kick-off on Sunday, Sterling's representatives issued a statement seeking clarity after the 29-year-old was excluded, along with Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku, and Conor Gallagher. Maresca explained before the match that the decision was based on technical reasons and reiterated this in his post-match conference while acknowledging the need for outgoing transfers.

"The only thing I can say again is it's a technical decision, it's nothing more than that," said Maresca after his first league game in charge of Chelsea. "I want Raheem Sterling, but I want all the 30 players that we have, but there's no space for all of them. So, for some of them, they have to leave."

The statement about Sterling's future disappointed many pundits before Chelsea's opening game against City. Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored for City in their victory. Jamie Redknapp urged Sterling to improve his performance and move on, while Jamie Carragher shared similar sentiments.

"Massive fan of Raheem as a player and a lad," Carragher wrote on social media platform X. "Not a fan of the Chelsea setup with [the] owners, but this statement is ridiculous! As a camp... We look forward to gaining clarity! No need for a statement, especially an hour before kick-off! Just play better."

Additional Absences

Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Armando Broja, and Carney Chukwuemeka were also absent from Chelsea's match squad. Maresca faces more decisions regarding players' futures. "Axel is only just coming back from an injury, while Chilly [Chilwell] has been ill," said Maresca. He previously indicated Chilwell might leave.

Maresca added that every case is different: "Carney is a very good player but with his injuries in the past the best thing for him is to play 30, 35 games in a row and show himself he's fit and how good he is. With us, is he going to play 35 games? I'm not sure."

2012 - After playing on MD1 in each of the last 11 seasons, Raheem Sterling won't feature in his club's first game of the Premier League season for the first time since 2012-13. Technical.