It does not take a particularly sharp financial mind to grasp the dilemma facing Chelsea before the transfer window shuts in less than a fortnight. The market is depressed, everything has to be influenced by concerns around the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and, in that context, it is hard to fancy Enzo Maresca’s chances of selling Raheem Sterling when the 29-year-old winger still has three years left on a contract worth £325,000 a week.
Maresca, the latest coach tasked with bringing tactical order to Todd Boehly’s and Clearlake Capital’s sprawling project, called it a “technical decision” after dropping Sterling for the 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on Sunday. But in light of another summer of heavy spending, not to mention the grubbiness of unwanted players being barred from using first-team facilities, the alternative view is that this is little more than another cost‑cutting exercise.
