Chelsea have been one of the busiest clubs in world football this summer.
The Blues have spent about £200m on new players this summer and recouped about £120m in sales.
But Maresca’s squad remains bloated, and a statement released by Sterling’s representatives following his omission from the defeat by Manchester City last weekend was an indicator of the difficulty the Italian has with the size of his squad.
“With the squad that we have, I am working with 22, 23 or 21 players – not with the 42 players otherwise it is impossible. It is impossible for any manager in the world to make a session with 45 players. It’s impossible. You cannot do that,” Maresca said before Chelsea’s game against Wolves.
It’s clear, then, that the Blues have work to do in order to trim their squad before the window closes.
But the position Chelsea find themselves in is not new. Last summer, the Blues offloaded Romelu Lukaku – on loan to Roma – and Callum Hudson-Odoi – to Nottingham Forest – on deadline day after the pair were told they had no future at Stamford Bridge.
Should Chelsea fail to sell players before the transfer window closes, they may have to utilise one of the above options to reduce the size of their squad.