Chelsea had a very busy transfer window, with a number of incoming and outgoing transfers. Now that the deadline is over, the final arrival list for the Blues includes notable names like Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato, and Facundo Buonanotte. Additionally, the move for Estevao has also been completed, having been signed quite a while back.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have also managed to raise some funds and create space through the permanent or loan exits involving several players, including Noni Madueke, Djordje Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, and Nicolas Jackson, among others. However, there are still a few players who missed their chance to move to new destinations this summer.
Raheem Sterling certainly falls into that category. Despite it being pretty clear that the player does not feature in the club’s plans for the future, a new team could not be found in time. That said, the transfer window is still open in some foreign leagues, in case the Englishman wants to move.
On that note, the winger seems to have made up his mind on whether he will leave the Premier League to pursue his career elsewhere. According to The Standard, Sterling is not open to a move to Saudi Arabia, Turkey or the United States and will remain at Chelsea with an eye to an exit in January.
Raheem Sterling makes decision Chelsea fans won't like
Sterling was signed by Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022. Since then, he has gone on to appear in 81 matches for the Blues, scoring just 19 goals and providing 15 assists.
Last season, the 30-year-old was sent on loan to Arsenal but failed to make any significant impact there either. Sterling has a contract running until 2027 and is one of the highest-paid individuals at Chelsea, which remains a cause for concern as he can't even get on the bench these days.
Sterling’s case should be a lesson to the club management not to hand out long-term, premium contracts to players without testing them first. Of course, they might have taken that lesson a bit too seriously and pretty much stopped signing established names completely.