CHELSEA have handed Raheem Sterling an awkward omen.
The winger’s number could be up as his Blues’ No7 shirt has been taken away – and now a match-day blunder has made things worse.
Raheem Sterling was wrongly listed with his old shirt number[/caption] But in reality new boy Pedro Neto has taken over Sterling’s No7[/caption]Sterling voiced his unhappiness after being axed him from Chelsea‘s first Premier League squad of the season – Sunday’s 2-0 home loss against Manchester City.
And the ex-England ace might be even more less pleased following an error ahead of Thursday’s 2-0 Europa Conference League play-off win over Servette.
Fans spotted Chelsea had wrongly listed him as having his old shirt number in the squad for the first-leg match at the Bridge.
In reality, however, that number has been allocated to £54million newcomer Pedro Neto.
The ex-Wolves winger was in the starting line-up against the Swiss visitors – with Sterling again not even a sub.
The ex-Etihad star, 29, and Trevoh Chalobah had been stripped of their numbers hours earlier.
That’s because boss Enzo Maresca hopes to offload several senior players.
Maresca wants a much-tighter squad of around 21 serious contenders for places.
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And it emerged on Thursday evening that Aston Villa are shock contenders for Sterling’s signature.
That means the England man could be playing Champions League football this season, rather than the Conference League with the Blues.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s match suffered chaos before kick-off.
Travelling fans clashed with police outside the stadium.
Police eventually allowed them into Stamford Bridge.
But the delay sparked impatience from the Swiss supporters, some of whom began breaking through a line of stewards.
Police were forced to hold the fans back, with at least one officer raising a baton as reinforcements were called half an hour before the 8pm start.
Apart from Sterling and Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Armando Broja were also omitted from the Blues’ squad.
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Ilkay Gundogan is closing in on a stunning return to Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling is set to leave Chelsea this summer as the winger is not a part of Enzo Maresca’s plans.
Elsewhere, Liverpool are reportedly closing in on the £29.9m signing of Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
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