Raheem Sterling's immediate future has taken another twist as he takes a step closer to the Chelsea exit door.
Sterling was not included in Chelsea's matchday squad for their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City earlier this month, leading to his representatives releasing a blunt statement in which they questioned manager Enzo Maresca over his decision.
The saga has taken several turns since then, with Sterling going from playing a key role in pre-season to finding himself searching for a new club.
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The Daily Mail claim that he and fellow England international Ben Chilwell will not be registered as part of Maresca's final Premier League squad if they stay at the club. Meanwhile, Sterling has been stripped of his shirt number which now belongs to Pedro Neto.
The main issue for Chelsea is that Sterling is earning around £300,000 per week and has three years left on his long-term contract signed in 2022.
That is making negotiations over a move difficult, though Juventus and Crystal Palace have been linked with making offers for the 29-year-old.
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But The Athletic claim that Sterling wants to resolve his contractual situation at Chelsea before looking for a move.
It is claimed that the focus has been on a contractual 'issue'.
Normally, in this particular scenario, an issue of this type would relate to how much money clubs are offering the selling club to take the player, or whether the selling club would be willing to pay a sum of money to the player for them to leave the club.
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Speaking about Sterling and Chilwell's absences from the first team squad last week, Maresca commented: "I try to be honest.
"I can repeat again if it's not clear: I spoke with Raheem before the 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.
"With Chilly, I said he is a lovely guy, but he is going to struggle because of his position. He is going to struggle.
"If you define this as brutal, it's up to you to decide. For me, it's not brutal - it's just honest."
Topics: Chelsea, Raheem Sterling, Premier League, Enzo Maresca, Transfers
Ryan Smart