Wednesday brought an official announcement that Raheem Sterling and Chelsea Football Club had mutually parted ways. And I know what your first reaction to this news is probably- “Raheem Sterling still plays for Chelsea?”
Well, up until now Raheem Sterling was still contracted to Chelsea. He spent last season on loan at Arsenal, but failed to make any meaningful impact.
London Derby FYIs
West Ham United at Chelsea FC
Kickoff: Sat. Jan 31 5:30pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Team News: West Ham United Chelsea FC Part 1 Chelsea Part 2
Premier League Standings, Form: West Ham United 18th 20 pts DLLWW Chelsea FC 5th, 37 points DDLWW
Result Probability: West Ham United 16% Draw 20% Chelsea FC 64%
Blues Team News
Sterling returned to Chelsea and it was a loan spell so uneventful that there wasn’t even a fee involved. Chelsea loaned him out for the purposes of reducing their wage bill.
When he got back to Stamford Bridge, he was frozen out entirely, on all levels, and he has not played a minute of football anywhere this season.
Where does Sterling go next?
Who knows, but he sounds like a prime candidate for America’s Major League Soccer or the Saudi Pro League at this point.
Elsewhere Cole Palmer started on the bench, in Chelsea’s 3-2 UEFA Champions League win at Napoli on Wednesday night. However, he came on at halftime and set up Joao Pedro’s game winning goal.
It turns out that Palmer is on minutes management right now, having recently recovered from a groin injury.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior explained.
“There was no way that Cole could have started this game and played through to 60, 70, 80 minutes,” the recently hired Blues boss said.
“I knew Napoli had had a difficult time with injuries. I felt that later in the game we would be stronger and I felt Cole’s performance was magnificent. Not just his quality, his pressing, his running for the team.
“We need to look after him. He’s had so many games over a long period of time.
“We need to look after him and I think the way that he’s managed himself in the last two weeks has been magnificent and hopefully we can now see the best of him now that he’s fully fit.
“We need to see him absolutely relish nights like this on a big occasion.”
Safe to say that he’ll be on a “pitch count” of sorts against the Hammers on Saturday. What’s most noteworthy about the Cole Palmer situation here is that speculation ran rampant that he was coming home again, to his boyhood club, Manchester United.
Transfer rumors have been running wild about Palmer going to United. Doesn’t seem to be happening though. At least not now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.