Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted his decision to drop Raheem Sterling from his squad was simply a “technical” one.

Amid mounting speculation about his future at the club, Sterling was surprisingly dropped from the squad to face Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season.

The winger’s representatives quickly released a statement voicing their surprise towards Sterling’s omission and vowing to seek clarity on the situation.

Maresca was soon asked to explain his logic behind dropping Sterling, telling Sky Sports: “The manager has to make some decisions. Sometimes players don’t like it, that’s normal.

“Just a technical decision, no more than that.”

Maresca’s decision to drop Sterling comes just two weeks after the Chelsea boss described the 29-year-old as one of the “important players” in the squad.

“The position of Raheem, for me, is a winger; the position he was in the first four games with us,” Maresca said after the pre-season defeat to City. “I don’t see him in another position. In any game, it can happen when we need to use him in a different position. For sure, he is one of our important players, together with the rest.

“At this moment, sometimes he is playing from the start, sometimes he goes inside. The important thing is we give him minutes, and he is doing well.”

Sterling, Chelsea’s highest earner, has been linked with an exit ever since Pedro Neto was signed from Wolves. Juventus have been tipped to move for the winger, although a swap deal involving Federico Chiesa is believed to have been rejected by Chelsea.

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