This is not the first time four-time Premier League champion Raheem Sterling – linked with a shock move to West Ham United this week – has found himself on the wrong end of a rather brutal Enzo Maresca snub at Chelsea.
Hammers News can confirm, via football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that West Ham have been offered Raheem Sterling with just over three weeks remaining in the transfer window.
There are obvious shades, then, with the summer of 2024.
The 82-time England international was unceremoniously booted from Enzo Maresca’s squad as Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City on the opening day of last season.
Twelve months on, Sterling is stuck in something of a Stamford Bridge ‘bomb squad’. Training away from the rest of the camp and even scrubbed off the ‘Player’ section of Chelsea’s official website.
A fresh start at West Ham United seems unlikely as things stand. Fulham or Crystal Palace are viewed as more probable destinations for a man who has not made a single competitive Chelsea appearance since Maresca arrived in West London as the full-time replacement for Graham Potter.
And, just like last year, Maresca is pulling no punches with regards to Sterling’s situation.
Enzo Maresca tells Raheem Sterling to leave as West Ham United are offered Chelsea misfit
Speaking as Chelsea prepare to face Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly clash on Friday, Maresca confirmed that the likes of Sterling and fellow forgotten man Ben Chilwell will not be handed a route back into the first-team picture.
Armando Broja is set to join Lesley Ugochuwku at Burnley, meanwhile, as Everton sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Defensive trio Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga and Alfie Gilchrist are also conspicuous by their absence from Chelsea’s official squad list after loan spells with Aston Villa, Juventus and Sheffield United respectively.
“I think the situation is quite clear. They are training, I guess they are waiting for a solution,” Maresca said when asked about Sterling and Chilwell, the latter an FA Cup champion at Crystal Palace in May.
“But when they leave, the club [will] text me or call me [like] when Lesley joined Burnley. I get this kind of news from the club because I don’t pay attention to the ones that are training [alone] and need to leave.
“I just focus on how we prepare the sessions, how we can win games.
“For sure, it’s better to work with 25 players than the biggest number, no doubt. At this moment, we are working with the ones that we want and we see that from now until the window finishes.”
Tony Cottee picks Crysencio Summerville over Sterling transfer
Raheem Sterling had a spell away from Chelsea of his own during the 2024/25 campaign.
A miserable tally of one goal in 28 appearances for Arsenal, though, means legendary hitman is Tony Cottee urging West Ham to stay clear of Sterling.
A man with 146 Hammers goals over two spells would rather see Graham Potter and co focus on helping Crysencio Summerville bounce back stronger from a season-ending hamstring injury.
“It depends which one turns up!” Cottee told talkSPORT when asked about the prospect of West Ham signing the one-time Manchester City and Liverpool superstar.
“The Raheem Sterling who struggled last season or the Raheem Sterling of a few years ago? Certainly, when he went to Arsenal, [he was] struggling with his form.
“Is he the man for West Ham? I don’t know. I mean, they need a striker but everyone needs a striker don’t they? And I don’t see him playing as an out-and-out number nine.
“They’ve got [Niclas] Fullkrug there. Maybe he could fit in; [Jarrod] Bowen on one side and him playing on the other side. But they’ve got Summerville to come back. And the question is; Is he going to be better than Summerville?
“I don’t think he will be.”
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