Enzo Maresca reveals two Chelsea stars have been relegated to the BOMB SQUAD and banished from the first team as Blues look to balance the books with summer exits

Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are the latest Chelsea players to be told they will not be allowed to train with the first team, as Enzo Maresca insists he is not leading a ‘brutal’ dictatorship.

Sterling, 29, is available to leave this summer after Maresca personally told him he would struggle to get playing time as he prefers a ‘different type of winger’.

Chilwell, 27, was told during the two-week tour of the United States that he was not the right fit for what Maresca expects of his full-backs.

Chelsea will train with a total of 20 players on Wednesday afternoon, despite having more than 40 players in total.

Speaking ahead of the game against Servette, who Chelsea must beat over two games to secure their place in this season’s Conference League, Maresca said: “Crude? I don’t think so. I’m just trying to be fair.

“I spoke to Raheem before the (Manchester) City game. I told him he would struggle to get minutes for us. Chilly, he’s a nice guy, but he’s going to struggle in his position for us. If you think that’s brutal, that’s up to you.

“They (Sterling and Chilwell) are training separately. As I said, the situation is quite clear and there is no update on the situation. They are Chelsea players. But it is not possible to give them all minutes. Those who want minutes should leave.”

Sterling and Chilwell aren’t the only ones training separately, with Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku and Kepa Arrizabalaga among those also training separately. They are all known to train together as a group, rather than simply being told to join the academy kids.

However, they will not be able to use the first-team facilities for the duration of their exile. Chelsea have until the summer transfer window closes on August 30 to get rid of all the dead wood.