Chelsea have dropped Raheem Sterling and Trevoh Chalobah from their squad in what appears to be the latest attempt by Chelsea FC to evict the pair from Stamford Bridge.
The duo are two members of the Blues’ bloated squad who, along with Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Armando Broja, were forced to train separately from the first team.
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Juventus are interested in Sterling and The Pitch Prospect has learned that Manchester United have been given the chance to sign Chilwell as left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia remain injured.
Unsurprisingly, none of the players from this group were in Chelsea’s squad for their Premier League opening match against Manchester City, which they lost 2-0.
Sterling was given the number 17 shirt when he joined from City for £47.5 million in the summer of 2022 and switched to number 7 last season.
However, this shirt has now gone to £54 million new signing Pedro Neto, who came from Wolves.
The move comes just days after Neto wore the number 19 shirt on his Chelsea debut against City.
Chalobah, in turn, had to give up his number 14 shirt for new signing Joao Felix, who wore the same number during his loan to Barcelona last season.
The Portuguese striker’s return to west London was confirmed on Wednesday after Chelsea paid £42.6m to sign him from Atletico Madrid.
During his loan to Chelsea in the second half of the 2022/23 season, Felix was given the number 11.
Chelsea confirmed the number changes in a club statement, but stressed that they were “subject to change” until the end of the transfer window.
The club also announced that fans who purchased Neto jerseys with the number 19 on the back can exchange them for a Neto jersey with the number 7 until September 30.
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Cutting Sterling and Chalobah from their squad is the latest step in new Blues boss Enzo Maresca’s relentless attempt to pressure players into leaving.
“We have a big squad and it is impossible to give each of them playing time,” Maresca said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“If they care about playing time, it’s better for them to leave.
“I try to be honest. I spoke to Raheem before the game against Manchester City.
“I said that it would be difficult for him to get playing time with us and that this was the reason for his absence.
“And Chilly is a nice guy, but I said he’s going to struggle with his position. That’s not brutal, it’s just honest.”
Regarding the possibility that Chelsea will be left with unwanted players, he said: “That is not my problem.
“I’m here to make decisions and think what’s best for us. I don’t think about how many years the contracts last.
“You have a 20-year contract? I don’t care. That’s not my job.”
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