Maresca denies harsh treatment at Chelsea as Sterling, Chilwell frozen out

Enzo Maresca has described Chelsea's much-criticized treatment of players as "honest" while the club seeks to offload more big names from its senior ranks.

After Conor Gallagher's protracted transfer to Atletico Madrid was confirmed Wednesday - along with Joao Felix moving the other way to Stamford Bridge - head coach Maresca made it clear that Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell aren't part of his plans and are training separately from the first team.

"I am not saying Raheem is not a good player, but I prefer different kinds of wingers," Maresca, who took charge of Chelsea this summer, said Wednesday, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

"The situation with both of them is quite clear," he added of Sterling and Chilwell. "We have a big squad, and it's impossible to give all of them minutes. If they are looking for minutes, it's better for them to leave. I try to be honest."

Maresca continued: "If you define this as brutal, it is up to you to decide. For me, it is not brutal. It is just honest."

The sizeable group of players training separately have been nicknamed the "bomb squad," The Telegraph's Sam Dean reports.

"I'm not working with 42 or 43 players. You like to say we have 42 or 43 players, but more than 15 players are training apart, they are not with the team," Maresca said, according to BBC Sport's Nizaar Kinsella.

"I don't see them, so it's not a mess like it looks from outside. Absolutely not."

The other high-profile footballers currently exiled from Chelsea first-team duties include Romelu Lukaku, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, and Armando Broja.

The potential fire sale ahead of the summer transfer window's deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 30 follows an unprecedented spending spree since Todd Boehly was part of a consortium that took over the club in May 2022. Sterling joined in July of that year for around £47.5 million from Manchester City but is now seemingly surplus to requirements.

Dismayed at his sudden lowly status in Maresca's squad, Sterling has expressed his desire to leave the club on a permanent basis rather than on loan, according to Ornstein. Summer arrival Pedro Neto, who reportedly cost at least £51 million, made his Chelsea debut in the No. 19 jersey last weekend but took Sterling's No. 7 shirt Wednesday.

Felix chose No. 14, which was previously worn by Chalobah.

Before this summer, the Boehly regime had committed a figure that could surpass £1 billion after add-ons to incoming deals, according to The Athletic's Liam Twomey. Chelsea have since spent considerable sums to bring Neto, Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Estevao Willian, Filip Jorgensen, Omari Kellyman, and other players to the club.