Premier League legend Alan Shearer has boldly claimed that Chelsea have already told Raheem Sterling to find a new club.
Sterling has struggled following his £50m move from Manchester City in 2022, coming in for criticism from fans, and was even booed by Chelsea supporters at stages last season.
The 29-year-old was surprisingly left out of Chelsea’s squad for the 2-0 defeat against City which lead to his representatives releasing a statement expressing their surprise at the decision and that they would be seeking clarity over his future.
Sterling to leave Chelsea this summer
It’s been reported that the Blues are open to letting Sterling leave this summer but it’s believed the Englishman is happy in London and fully focused on the Premier League season ahead.
Moving Sterling on could prove difficult given he’s on wages in excess of £300,000 but being left out of the squad could be a message from the club that he’s not part of the plans and needs to explore his options.
It’s believed he turned down an approach from Saudi Arabia last summer, whilst there have been reports linking him with Juventus, but nothing has materialised on that front yet.
However, Shearer has boldly claimed that Chelsea have already told the England international that he needs to find a new club.
“I’m told that he’s trained all pre-season and was told on Friday that he’s probably best off looking elsewhere for a club because they’ve brought other people in in that position,” he told The Rest is Football.
“As hard as that is and it will be for him because as far as I can remember he hasn’t been unprofessional at all at Chelsea.
“To have been told that on Friday, that would be pretty frustrating. Mark my words, this is not going to be the first case of player unrest at Chelsea.
“Enzo Maresca is going to have to deal with problems like this all season.”
Steling appears to have fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of Pedro Neto and if Joao Felix joins the club that would see his chance of minutes get even smaller.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Sterling and what clubs come in for him, but if he does leave he will have to take a pay cut.
