Raheem Sterling's next steps after failing to secure a move away from Chelsea during the summer transfer window has emerged as the club plan to take drastic action.
Chelsea signed several new players during the summer, including Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho, among others.
But the Blues also offloaded plenty of players as they balanced their books for the 2025/26 season.
Noni Madueke moved to Arsenal, Christopher Nkunku joined AC Milan and Joao Felix linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr to name but a few departures.
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Sterling, however, was unable to find a new club during the summer, having been linked with Fulham and Crystal Palace in the final hours of the transfer window.
As a result, Sterling is set to train away from the first-team at Chelsea until the January transfer window.
That's according to The Times, who claim a move aboard is 'unlikely' given the player's preference to stay in the UK.
It is expected that Sterling will wait for January for a new opportunity, which could mean a spell on the sidelines.
Enzo Maresca has not considered the 30-year-old to be part of his plans and did not confirm whether the players who have been training separately from the first-team at the club's training base would be reintegrated.
"No idea at the moment," he said.
"I don’t know. You know that they are not even with us. They are training at a different time, with a different pitch. So I don’t have any idea.
"We’ll see. When the window closes, we’ll see and we’ll decide."
Sterling, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £47.5 million in 2022, is believed to be the club's highest earner in terms of base salary, pocketing £300,000-a-week.
The winger has made 81 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea but hasn't played for them since the 2023/24 campaign, having spent last season on loan at Arsenal.
He played 28 games for Arsenal, scoring one goal.
Topics: Raheem Sterling, Football, Chelsea
Nasir Jabbar