Liam Rosenior Breaks Silence on Sterling and Disasi Situation With Big Statement

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has revealed his stance on the futures of 'bomb squad' members Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi as they continue to train away from the first-team group.

Sterling and Disasi were effectively exiled from the squad and forced to train away from the first team under Enzo Maresca after they failed to secure summer transfers.

Last season, Sterling was loaned out to Arsenal but failed to make an impact, while Disasi spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign with Aston Villa, who decided against pursuing a permanent move.

The pair were placed in Maresca's 'bomb squad' alongside Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu, Renato Veiga and Alfie Gilchrist.

But this week, new manager Liam Rosenior has extended an olive branch to Sterling and Disasi as he confirmed his plans to hold talks with both players - something that is "near the top" of his list of things to do.

Disasi and Sterling were exiled from the first-team squad by Enzo Maresca. Image credit: Getty

Speaking in his latest press conference, Rosenior gave his thoughts on the pair.

“I haven’t [spoken with them yet],” he said. “To be honest I’ve had so much on. This is my fourth day in the job. I will have conversations with them.

“Raheem’s had an outstanding career. I’ve got huge respect for him and Axel, who was someone I’ve really, really liked for a long time. But in this moment, with the amount of games that we’ve got and the stuff I’ve had to do — not just in terms of training but with the staff — I haven’t got on to that topic. I will do it in the next few days."

“Honestly, I have to have a conversation with them," added Rosenior. "I have to have a conversation with the club. It’s been a whirlwind. There’s a lot for me to do and that’s near the top of my list.”

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Axel Disasi gave insight into what it's like to be part of Chelsea's 'bomb squad'

Back in August, Disasi posted a series of photos from pre-season, captioning the post: "Life."

One of them was a photo of the 'bomb squad' dressing room, a small rectangular area that featured wooden benches, an air conditioning unit, two windows and a number of name plaques.

Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu and Disasi all have name plaques visible, while defender Alfie Gilchrist was sat in the corner of the dressing room with his head in his hand.

Had several players themselves not been pictured, it might have been hard to tell that the dressing room belonged to Chelsea players. Image credit: Instagram/@axel_disasi

As well as touching on the uncertain futures of Sterling and Disasi, Rosenior said he wants to make a full assessment of his squad before entering into discussions about recruitment.

“The first conversation I had with the guys [sporting directors] is that I want to assess the most important players, which are the guys that are here,” he said. “Normally you get good surprises if you give people a chance.

“I had some really good surprises in the game against Charlton [Saturday’s 5-1 FA Cup third round win]. The performances from some of the players who maybe haven’t played as much this season were outstanding.

“I want to give them a chance. Yes, we’re in January and, yes, we want the club to be as successful as possible in the short term, but I also think sometimes the answers lie within the building and not outside. So I’ll make a decision on that with the guys, probably later in the window when I’ve seen everyone play.”