Raheem Sterling Stripped Off Shirt as Chelsea Confirms Numbers for Felix, Neto
- Raheem Sterling has suffered another blow after his number seven shirt at Chelsea was reassigned to a new teammate
- Sterling has been frozen out of Enzo Maresca's plans and is now training with a group the club intends to sell
- The Blues have confirmed squad numbers for Portuguese pair Pedro Neto and Joao Felix, who were signed this summer
Raheem Sterling has been stripped of his number seven shirt at Chelsea. Sterling has been declared a persona non grata under Enzo Maresca's tenure.
The new Chelsea boss omitted the England international from the squad that faced Manchester City on Sunday.
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He was then dropped once more from the squad that will play Servette on Thursday evening in the Conference League.
Enzo Maresca's stance on Sterling
Addressing journalists during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Maresca confirmed that Sterling and the former vice-captain, Ben Chilwell, were training away from the main group.
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"I spoke with Raheem before Manchester City; I said that he is going to struggle to get minutes with us. With Chilly I said he is a lovely guy, but with his position, he’s going to struggle with us. It’s not brutal; it’s honest," he said, as quoted by the Independent.
Who has taken Raheem Sterling's number at Chelsea?
In a press release, the club confirmed that new signing Pedro Neto will wear the number 7 shirt going forward as Joao Felix takes the number 14 shirt. Number 14 was previously worn by Trevoh Chalobah, who is one of the players Chelsea intends to sell.
Sterling joined the West Londoners two years ago after a trophy-laden spell with Manchester City. He started with the number 17 shirt but moved to number 7 after N'Golo Kante left the club.
The 29-year-old is now said to be considering a permanent move away from the club.
How Chelsea will line up with Felix
Briefly News has also reported how Chelsea could line up with Felix in attack.
The Blues completed a £46.3m move for the Portuguese international from Atletico Madrid.
Maresca will now have to figure out how to incorporate him into a forward line that already includes Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, and Neto, among others.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
