Shearer tells ‘disrespected’ Chelsea man to join rivals as Scholes tips Arsenal move

Alan Shearer thinks Raheem Sterling should leave Chelsea and join Aston Villa before the transfer deadline, while Paul Scholes reckons he could improve Arsenal.

The England international has been training away from the rest of the Blues first-team squad, as well as another 15 to 20 players, according to Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca .

Joao Felix became the Blues’ tenth signing of the summer earlier this week and the west London club have come in for criticism over their apparent scattergun approach to the transfer market.

Chelsea have spent well in excess of £1billion since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the Stamford Bridge outfit in May 2022 but there could be more signings to come.

Academy product Conor Gallagher left for Atletico Madrid earlier this week and now it looks as though Sterling and Ben Chilwell will definitely follow before the end of the window.

Sterling has already been linked with a number of Premier League clubs in recent days and Shearer thinks Chelsea have been “very disrespectful” towards the England international.

“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.”

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Shearer is not sure how many clubs will be able to afford Sterling’s wages but the Newcastle United legend reckons the 29-year-old would “do a good job” for Aston Villa.

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.”

Manchester United legend Scholes thinks a move to Arsenal would also be good for Sterling with the Gunners needing more quality beyond their best 14 players.

Scholes said on The Overlap : “I think he’d improve your [Arsenal’s] squad. I don’t think he’d improve the team, I don’t think he’d be a starter.

“But then again I do think you need those numbers, you need 16 or 17 players. It’s ok having 12, 13, 14 that are good, and if they stay fit then great you’ve got a good chance, but you still have to go deeper into your squad. And I think Sterling would be a good squad player for them.”