England forward Raheem Sterling has decided not to move to Saudi Arabia and does not want to be loaned out.
The 29-year-old, who has been left out by Chelsea’s head coach Enzo Maresca, is no longer wearing his No7 shirt.
Sterling is thinking about his future, but his family is happy in London, so he does not want to leave the country. This has caught the attention of top Premier League clubs.
Although Juventus has shown interest, Sterling would rather stay in the Premier League to improve his chances with the England national team.
Sterling, who earns over £300,000 a week and has three years left on his contract, might face difficulties finding a new club in the Premier League unless Chelsea covers a big part of his salary or he agrees to a large pay cut.
Currently, he is not training with Chelsea’s first team and was given time off on Tuesday and Wednesday while he and the club decide on the next steps.
In a surprising turn of events, Sterling lost his No7 shirt to new signing Pedro Neto, who joined Chelsea for £54 million.
He now joins Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah as part of what some are calling Chelsea’s “bomb squad.”
However, coach Maresca denies any harsh treatment of Sterling, saying, “I don’t think so,” said the head coach. “I try to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before the Manchester City game, I said he is going to struggle to get minutes with us and this is the reason why he is out of the squad. For me, it’s not brutal, it’s just honest.”
Chelsea will play against Swiss team Servette on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off.
Despite the ongoing changes, Maresca defends Chelsea’s transfer decisions, insisting that the club is not as chaotic as it might seem from the outside.
Joao Felix, who cost £42 million, will not play against Servette, but is expected to be available for the match against Wolves on Sunday.
Chelsea is preparing for a major player clear-out before the transfer window closes next Friday, with Chilwell, Chalobah, and Armando Broja all likely to leave.
Broja is close to completing a loan move to Premier League newcomers Ipswich.
