New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has confirmed he will hold talks with Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi to determine whether they have a future at the club. The duo have not played this season and have been available for transfer since the summer, but no buyers have emerged.
Rosenior, who took charge four days ago, has been focused on preparations for Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal. He has not yet had the chance to address the situation of Sterling, who has 18 months left on a contract worth around £325,000 a week, or Disasi, the former Monaco centre-back.
“I’ve had so much on,” said the 41-year-old. “I will have conversations with them. Raheem’s had an outstanding career. I’ve got huge respect for him and Axel. But in this moment, with the amount of games that we’ve got, I haven’t got on to that topic. I will do it in the next few days.”
Sterling has attracted interest from Fulham, but Rosenior did not rule out the possibility of either player returning to the squad. “I have to have a conversation with them. I have to have a conversation with the club. I’ve got to work through a list of priority. It’s been a whirlwind,” he said.
Chelsea are unlikely to be busy in the January transfer window but remain open to opportunities. Rosenior wants to assess his current squad before deciding on reinforcements. “The first conversation I had with the guys is that I want to assess the most important players, which is the guys that are here,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will be without the suspended Moisés Caicedo for the Arsenal clash, while Cole Palmer is an injury doubt after struggling with a groin strain. Rosenior praised Palmer as a “special talent” but said he would manage his workload carefully given the club's six games this month.
