Top Journalist shares honest thoughts on Chelsea ace as club face another transfer saga | OneFootball

The Athletic’s Liam Twomey feels Chelsea have wanted Raheem Sterling’s lucrative contract off their books for the last 18 months.

Sterling joined Chelsea in the summer of 2022 from Manchester City in a deal worth £50m and was billed as a marquee signing in the first window under the new ownership.

It’s safe to say things haven’t gone to plan for the 29-year-old at Stamford Bridge and he’s found it difficult to make an impact and was even booed at times by Chelsea supporters last season.

Sterling’s future up in the air

The England international had a largely positive pre-season and was expected to have a role to play under Enzo Maresca with the Italian’s system in theory suiting Sterling’s attributes.

However, it was a surprise to see the winger completely left  out of the match day squad against Manchester City, which prompted a statement from his representatives expressing their surprise at the decision and that they would be seeking clarity over Sterling’s future.

Maresca described the decision as “technical” but it’s no secret the Blues are open to moving Sterling on and this is perhaps the first step of making him aware that he needs to find a new club before the end of the window.

Sterling is facing an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge.

Sterling is on wages in excess of £300,000 and his contract doesn’t fall in line with those now being handed out by the club and moving him on would save the club a substantial amount of money.

Twomey feels that Chelsea have actually wanted Sterling’s contract off their books for the last 18 months given it’s not incentivised like the others.

“My feeling for most of the last 18 months is that Chelsea would much rather have that Raheem Sterling contract off their books because it does not fit with every contract that they’ve given out in the last 18 months,” he told the Straight Outta Cobham podcast.

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“He’s on a massive guaranteed salary. It’s not incentivised low base wages, like a lot of these other guys. It’s five years taking him into his 30s, and he’s not producing at the level of that contract.”

With not long left in the window it will be really interesting to see how this situation develops, whether there’s a market for Sterling or if Chelsea try and turn the pressure up in an attempt to try and force him out.