Raheem Sterling told to 'shut up' as Enzo Maresca face-off takes new Chelsea twist
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(Credit: Hasan Karim - Breaking Media, Imago)
Oliver Walton
Sat 20 September 2025 7:30, UK
Troy Deeney has warned Raheem Sterling to keep quiet and “not complain” even if he thinks he can outlast Enzo Maresca at Chelsea as his bomb squad saga takes a new twist with the PFA now involved.
Sterling joined Chelsea as one of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s first marquee signings back in 2022, in a £47.5million [Sky Sports] deal from Manchester City.
His time at Stamford Bridge has largely been one of struggle and woe since, and he was sent out on loan to Arsenal last summer but made just seven league starts for the Gunners as they finished second in the Premier League.
Sterling was left out of Chelsea’s Club World Cup squad earlier this summer with a move away mooted, and Football Insider revealed that West Ham and Fulham were each targeting Sterling in the final few days of the transfer window, but he failed to seal an exit.
He is now training away from Enzo Maresca‘s first-team squad along with Axel Disasi, and the PFA have voiced concerns over Sterling and Disasi’s treatment at Chelsea, but Troy Deeney has backed him to potentially still look to stay long-term to grab another chance under a different head-coach.
Credit: Imago
Sources have recently told Football Insider that Sterling will stay at Chelsea until January whilst he contemplates his options for a transfer out of Stamford Bridge, with his contract seemingly unlikely to be cancelled.
With him in limbo and the PFA now investigating claims of mistreatment on Chelsea’s part, Maresca insisted in a press conference on Friday (19 September) that his father has a harder life than Sterling as a fisherman, so it is pretty clear that the 30-year-old has no future in West London as long as he is in charge.
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Troy Deeney offered his verdict while speaking live on talkSPORT on Friday (19 September), admitting that he thinks Sterling is to blame for his downfall and not forcing a move away, while also backing him to potentially try to stay at the club longer than Maresca to then force his way back into the fold.
He said: “My only frustration and concern at this whole thing is when we start feeling sorry for players who’ve just had the opportunity to leave.
Now he can’t complain.
“When you make those parameters of wanting to stay in London, wanting the pay to be really high and the full package, or at least 75% of it, I think you just go into a position where you can’t now complain that it hasn’t fulfilled itself.
“I don’t think this is going to happen, because Maresca has got off to a good start, but he (Sterling) could go, ‘well I could probably outlast you…I could outlast you,’ and if Maresca goes on an eight-game losing streak and Chelsea chop him, then who knows?”
Maresca has led Chelsea to fifth place in the Premier League so far this season, with two wins and two draws each, so it does feel pretty unlikely that he is relieved of his duties anytime soon.
Once upon a time, Blues outcast Sterling was one of the best wingers in the Premier League and throughout world football, but he has been unable to find his best form since departing Man City for Stamford Bridge in 2022.
An overall return of 34 goals and assists in 62 starts in his time at Chelsea is still not terrible, and can be looked upon as a positive, so it comes as no surprise to learn that top-flight clubs were interested in him this summer.
AppearancesStartsGoalsAssists81621915Sterling’s Chelsea career stats
Sterling is not a four-time Premier League champion by chance, nor has he been handed 82 England caps as a token gesture, and having a player of his quality and nous would have been massively beneficial to younger players in either West Ham or Fulham‘s squads.
What he has done now, however, is effectively ruled himself out of action for four long months, during which he will lose match sharpness, and potential suitors that may not see him as a viable option.
He will still likely have teams interested in his services come January, but whether they are ones in the capital that he wants to join, or those willing to offer him suitable terms, is unclear, and he should be regretting not simply cutting his losses and pushing to leave Chelsea last week.