Chelsea owners BlueCo moved Liam Rosenior to Stamford Bridge from Strasbourg, installing the former Hull City boss as the successor to Enzo Maresca.
Rosenior signed a long-term deal but must move quickly to address Chelsea’s shortcomings if the Blues are to make a success of the 2025-26 season.
With a number of clubs and managers willing to loan or even freeze players out, changes at the top theoretically offer those same players a path back to the first team.
Chelsea boss Rosenior is lining up ‘a conversation’ with Raheem Sterling
Wembley-raised England winger Raheem Sterling joined Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022 but has been unable to settle at the club, making just 59 appearances in the Premier League.
Sterling, who ranked at no.88 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest Premier League players of all time, spent last season on loan at Arsenal without leaving a dent. He is now training away from Chelsea and his teammates.
Along with defender Axel Disasi, Sterling might have a glimmer of hope for a return to the fold with a new manager in place.
“I will have conversations with them,” Rosenior told reporters in advance of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against the Gunners on Wednesday.
“Raheem's had an outstanding career. I've got huge respect for him. Axel is someone I've really, really liked as a player for a long time.
“Honestly, I have to have a conversation with them. I have to have a conversation with the club. I'm being genuinely honest. I literally have got to work through a list of priorities. I will do in the next few days.”
Sterling last played in May, when Mikel Arteta gave him an hour in the last game of the Premier League season. His most recent match for Chelsea was against AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in May 2024.
Sterling’s decline since his City departure has been steep. His most recent England cap came in December 2022 against France at the World Cup, one of just five appearances for the national team as a Chelsea player.
Now 31 years of age, Sterling has 123 Premier League goals to his name and scored 20 times for the Three Lions. In most circumstances, that’s a player who would still be involved not only at international level but also with a club competing for major honours regularly.
Rosenior might well have the options of selling or loaning Sterling, who reportedly still has the attention of Serie A champions Napoli, but a shock return to the Chelsea ranks could be closer than ever.
