Last weekend’s headlines at Chelsea were written before the game against Manchester City had even kicked off. When the teamsheets came out, Raheem Sterling was not even among the substitutes, and moments after the world digested this news, his camp released a statement making it very clear that he was not happy about this.
There’s plenty of drama still to come in this story – we’re looking forward to tonight’s team-sheet for the game against Servette, for example. But before even that is out, there’s an exclusive in the Daily Mail which gives Sterling’s side of the story, via Sami Mokbel.
It’s full of interesting little snippets which make it very clear that Sterling has been a vital presence behind the scenes at Chelsea in his two years at the club. While his influence on the pitch has been fairly questioned, it’s obvious that he’s a mentor and an important dressing room figure.
Sterling helps bring former colleagues to Chelsea
The story here claims that Sterling played an important role in two recent transfers at Chelsea. We all know that he had spoken to Cole Palmer before he came to Stamford Bridge. The two had been teammates at Man City, and there was plenty of media content done at the time showing the pair hugging as they reunited at Cobham.
However it seems Palmer wasn’t the only one. Apparently Sterling also spoke to Tosin Adarabioyo, another former Man City player, to persuade him to turn down Newcastle and come to Chelsea at the start of this summer.
All of this contributed to Sterling’s sense that “he remained central to Chelsea’s operation,” a feeling that was clearly destroyed the moment that teamsheet came out on Sunday.
We’re not sure what comes next -but it’s all getting very messy.