Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has insisted the club is not “a mess” despite having more than 40 first-team players on their books on Wednesday as he also challenged Raheem Sterling’s claim that he is in the dark over his future.
A hectic summer transfer window for Chelsea continued on Wednesday with Conor Gallagher completing his £34 million ($44.4m) move to Atlético Madrid while João Félix has become the club’s 11th signing of the summer window as he finalised his move in his opposite direction.
Maresca confirmed that a significant number of players are training away from the first-team group having been deemed surplus to requirements, with several high-profile players in that group including Gallagher prior to his departure, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah and Sterling.
Speaking on Wednesday ahead of Chelsea’s Conference League playoff against Servette, Maresca said: “I am not working with 42 players. That is something from outside. I’m working in this moment with 21 players.
“Today’s session is with 20 players, yesterday’s session was with 21. So they other 15 or 20, they are training apart. In the USA [during preseason] we had 26 or 27 players so [are there] Chelsea players, 42, 43, yes for sure. But they are not working with me every day. I don’t see them. So it is not a mess like it looks from outside, absolutely not.”
Chelsea have adopted a policy of signing players on long-term contracts — often eight or nine-year deals — but Maresca claimed his selection policy would not be affected as a result.
“I’m here to take the decision and think only the best for us,” he continued. “I’m not thinking about how many years contract [they have], it is not my job. If they have a six-year contract but I don’t like them, they can have a 20-year contract, I don’t care.
“I am just here to make the right decision for the team, no more than that. About the contract situation, it is not my job.”
Sterling has three years remaining on his Chelsea contract and issued a statement seeking clarity over his situation after being left out of Sunday’s Premier League opener against Manchester City.
The 29-year-old had been a part of all six preseason matches before being omitted but Maresca said: “I spoke with Raheem one-to-one the day before City and I explained to him exactly the situation.
“I don’t see Raheem after the game. He is training apart as I said. In case I sit with Raheem, I will tell him exactly the same things that I already told him. I don’t have anything new to tell him because I was quite clear.”
Sterling is believed to be working out his next steps, with Juventus among the clubs interested in signing the England international, according to sources.
Maresca also reiterated Gallagher’s exit was down to a need to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which state that money raised through selling players developed in a club’s academy can be accounted for as pure profit.
Some Chelsea fans were singing Gallagher’s name when they were losing to City on Sunday, ruing the departure of a midfielder who joined the club aged eight.
“It is not only for Chelsea, many clubs in this moment are selling players from the academy,” Maresca said.
“That is very sad because we all love … I mentioned the other day we have [Francesco] Totti, he played in Roma for 20 years, it was his team, and we all love that.
“Now in this moment the rules are a bit different and sometimes you need to sell your academy players to have 100% profit and it is the situation. Also the rules, they are there so we need to at least to respect the rules.”
Further sales are expected given Premier League sides and those engaged in UEFA competition can only register a 25-man squad to use in the competition once the summer transfer window has closed.