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Alan Shearer has urged ‘disrespected’ Chelsea star Raheem Sterling to join a rival Premier League club before the summer transfer window closes.
Sterling said he was seeking ‘clarity’ from Chelsea after being left out of their Premier League opener against Manchester City last weekend.
In his post-match press conference, new Blues boss Enzo Maresca said his omission was for tactical reasons but then confirmed earlier this week that Sterling was no longer training with the first-team squad.
Maresca effectively told Sterling to leave if he wanted to play regular football this season, leaving the England winger with just a few days to find a new club.
‘I’m not a big fan of what’s happened to Raheem Sterling, I think it’s very disrespectful,’ Shearer told Betfair.
‘He may not have had a great season last season, which is fine, but there’s still a way to treat people and understand players’ needs. There’s a way to sell players.
‘It’s just bizarre what’s going on at Chelsea. You see the Conor Gallagher situation when he left on the plane to go to Atletico on the proviso someone else was coming over, they tried to sign the Samu Omorodion, but then that deal was off, and Gallagher then had to come back to Chelsea.
‘Suddenly, they don’t want a centre forward, and they think ‘okay, we’ll go back and see if we can do a deal with Joao Felix’, and Gallagher had to hang around until that deal was done before he could head back to Atletico.
‘In the meantime, Chelsea tell Raheem Sterling that he’s no longer wanted and he has to find himself a football club, which is fine, that’s the way it goes in football sometimes – a coach comes in and doesn’t fancy you, that happens.
‘But, telling someone two days before the season starts they are not going to be involved, and giving someone just over a week to find a football club, it’s very, very disrespectful. It’s not the right way to treat a professional.
‘That’s the way it is at Chelsea now though, the players must accept that, and the coach must accept that, because that’s what he’s taken on. Anyone that goes into that football club knows how it’s being run.
‘It’s not very nice at all, but that’s the way it is. You’ve just got to try and accept it because you know going into it, that is what you are facing.’
Shearer believes it may be difficult for clubs to afford Sterling but named Aston Villa as a possible landing spot for the 29-year-old.
He added: ‘The problem facing Raheem Sterling now is who can afford him?
‘In terms of his salary, I assume Chelsea will have to give him something to leave because he’s got three years left on his contract. Whatever his contract is, he will not want to leave for nothing after the way they’ve treated him.
‘The question is, will Chelsea pay him enough to leave? They’re going to have this issue in years to come now too, because most of their players are on six, seven, eight, nine-year contracts which is just crazy in my opinion.
‘Can he get out and sign for another football club on a lesser salary than he is on now? We’ll have to wait and see if that can be done in the space of seven days or so.
‘There’s no doubt about it, Raheem Sterling didn’t play as well as he can do last season, but there’s talent there and he’s got a lot to offer still.
‘He would be a good buy for someone, whether that club can buy him or do a loan deal is yet to be seen but in terms of a team in the Premier League, he could do a good job for Aston Villa.’
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