Sky
Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol answers the key questions around the on and
off-field drama that's going on at Chelsea.
The Blues kicked off their Premier League season with defeat to Man City,
which was marred by forward Raheem Sterling issued a statement after his
omission from the matchday squad.
Amid a busy summer for new boss Enzo Maresca, Sky Sports News' chief
reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains the story around some of those big
issues...
Is Raheem Sterling going to leave Chelsea
before the window closes?
Chelsea would listen to offers for him. He's on big wages compared to
players they're bringing in and I feel Chelsea would like him to go. Perhaps
that would be a potential loan deal, which could ease the wage burden.
But as he said in his statement, he has three years left on his contract and
is within his rights to stay and fight for a place in the team. However, on
Sunday, there were five wide players in the squad and he wasn't one of them.
Enzo Maresca spoke to him on Friday and explained for technical reasons he
wouldn't be involved. If you read between the lines, the message being sent
to him is his future may not be at this club.
I think Sterling has been told: 'we have a lot of players in your position,
we will probably sign more players in your position as well. Someone in your
standing and your experience, we want to let you know that now is the time
for you to be looking at other options'.
I don't think he's someone who has threatened to go on strike or throw their
toys out of the pram. What he has said is: 'There's only two weeks to go
until the window closes. You're not leaving me much time.'
He's now considering all his options after missing out on the match-day
squad to face his former side on Sunday. He's happy and settled at Stamford
Bridge but will not stay at the club if he is not wanted. Any potential exit
would have to suit all parties, including his family.
Sterling has communicated that he wants to speak openly with the club about
his future and Maresca will hold talks with him. Juventus have previously
made contact regarding his availability earlier in the window.
Is Ben Chilwell's time at Chelsea up too?
Chelsea have been diplomatic around Chilwell - but it's clear Maresca
doesn't see him fitting into his style of play. He's still training with the
first team, although he was ill last week.
But like Sterling, he is another big earner. The owners inherited a squad
with many players earning big money and one of the main targets has been to
cut the wage bill.
Now, the average wage is about £70k per week (with big bonuses and
incentives). But the big earners have a target on their back. Kepa
Arrizabalaga is another big earner - what's next for him after his loan to
Real Madrid didn't work out?
Conor Gallagher seems to be in limbo -
will he stay or go?
The expectation at Chelsea is he will be leaving. The club gave him some
time off after the move to Atletico Madrid stalled and he's had to start his
pre-season almost from scratch. Interestingly, he wasn't listed on the
club's matchday programme for the Man City match.
Chelsea have now agreed a permanent deal with Atletico for Joao Felix, which
would allow Gallagher to complete his £36m (€42m) move to the Spanish side.
Felix is expected to sign a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge, with the
options to extend his stay for a further year.
The Spanish club have already spent big on former Man City man Julian
Alvarez and needed to sell Felix before signing the English midfielder.
Are the owners damaging the relationship
with the fanbase by trying to sell popular homegrown players such as
Gallagher?
The fans certainly love Gallagher. He was captain for a lot of games last
season and you could hear the fans singing his name when Erling Haaland
scored Man City's opener.
Trevoh Chalobah, another academy graduate, wasn't listed on the matchday
programme, either. Neither were Armando Broja - who seems set to go on loan
to Ipswich - or Romelu Lukaku (more on him below).
From the owners' perspective, they will say they bought a club on its knees
- and when they got inside, the club's situation was worse than they
thought. Chelsea had been sanctioned by the government and were deemed to
have fallen behind clubs such as Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal. They felt
they had to start from scratch and they have replaced almost everyone -
recruitment teams, medical teams, groundsmen… The pace of change is
frightening.
A lot of Chelsea fans will say it wasn't that bad. They had a very good
manager in Thomas Tuchel, they won the Champions League and were Club World
Cup champions three months before the new owners arrived. The fans will say
it didn't need emergency surgery - and perhaps they feel the soul has been
ripped out of the club. That too much changed too quickly and they have been
left with a starting XI they can't identify with.
The owners will counter that and say it will take time. But this is the
season where you have to judge the owners. They have the structure, head
coach, style of play and squad they want. There are no more excuses.
Was it right to hand Enzo Fernandez the
captain's armband so soon after the racism storm he was involved in?
It was a strange decision and brings unwanted headlines, more controversy.
He is still under investigation by FIFA for that incident.
Maresca says he made a mistake but it is more than making a mistake - you
have to be seen to be punished. It would have been controversial just to
play him but to make him captain? Reece James is club captain, although he
is injured again and Maresca didn't clearly state James would remain captain
when he was asked in pre-season, describing him as "one of the captains".
In contrast to Fernandez on Sunday, we saw Mateo Kovacic score the clinching
goal for Man City, a central midfielder Chelsea sold for £25m cutting
through a midfield which cost over £200m.
There is a lot of youth in this Chelsea team, but where are the leaders?
Is the Romelu Lukaku/Victor Osimhen trade with Napoli going to come off?
Napoli need Lukaku, Chelsea need Osimhen -
the smart money is on those deals happening.
Osimhen would change the mood at Chelsea. He's the player Chelsea fans want.
He has got the personality, experience and presence they need. Someone in
the mould of Didier Drogba or Diego Costa. A superstar. But the problem is
his wages.
Napoli can't afford him. They gave him a new contract but he's on massive
wages. He wasn't involved on Sunday in their bad defeat to Verona and is
training away from the first team. PSG are also in the mix but Chelsea know
Napoli want Lukaku.
Chelsea don't want to pay over odds, though - and they won't be paying him
£300k per week.
Chelsea have received an official bid from Napoli for Lukaku. It is
understood the proposal is an initial loan with an obligation to buy. The
total package is worth £25.5m (€30m) - including the loan fee.
Chelsea have made it clear they want a permanent deal and the offer falls
short in two respects: the overall valuation and the fact that it is a loan
plus an obligation are not satisfactory to Chelsea.
This is a deal which looks like it will happen - but closer to deadline day.
And that is when we can really judge the shape of this Chelsea squad: when
the transfer window is closed, when the players who they want out are gone
and the ones they want in have or haven't arrived.
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