Raheem Sterling joined Chelsea from Manchester City last summer; England international has scored six goals in 25 games for the Blues this season; reports have linked Sterling with a move to Arsenal at the end of the season but winger's camp say he is happy at Stamford Bridge
Wednesday 1 March 2023 18:00, UK
Raheem Sterling's representatives have dismissed reports that he has ever been unhappy at Chelsea.
The winger is totally committed to Chelsea and has fully embraced and bought into the vision of the club's owners and coaching staff.
Sterling wants to be part of the new Chelsea which is being built for many seasons to come but knows he is part of a rebuild which will take time and patience.
The 28-year-old wants to be left alone to focus on important matters, which are the upcoming games against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund.
Sterling is feeling fit and well after returning from a hamstring injury in the 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton earlier this month.
Recent reports have linked Sterling with a summer move to Arsenal but there are no plans to review his future at Chelsea in the summer.
The former Manchester City player is happy at Chelsea and the club are happy with him, although he respects Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
Sterling moved to Chelsea from City in a £50m deal last July and has scored six goals in 25 appearances in all competitions.
Graham Potter is under pressure at Chelsea but he still has the support of at least one of the club's owners.
Chairman Todd Boehly, who led the consortium which completed the £4.25bn takeover last May, shares voting rights equally with Clearlake Capital, a Californian investment fund which owns the majority of shares in Chelsea.
Behdad Ehgbali and Jose E Feliciano, co-founders of Clearlake, represent the investment fund at Chelsea.
Along with Boehly, investment banker Mark Walter, the chairman of the LA Dodgers, is the third party with a stake of more than 10 per cent in Chelsea.
Potter's side sit 10th in the Premier League table and 14 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and have won just once in their last 11 matches in all competitions - scoring four goals in that time - while they have failed to record a victory in any away match since October 16.
Defeat at Tottenham last Sunday increased the scrutiny on Potter's position at Stamford Bridge, but the feeling is that changing managers now would be a step backward not forward for the Blues, especially because of the investment made in new players and building a new structure around the head coach.
Since the arrival of new Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have spent more than £600m in bringing in 19 new players to the squad, including Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a British transfer record fee of £106.8m.
However, results have failed to pick up for Potter, who left Brighton to join Chelsea last September, signing a five-year deal in west London.
He has now won just nine of his 26 matches as Chelsea boss and their defeat in north London means his side are on their longest run without an away win in the Premier League in 22 years.
They were also beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund, having already been knocked out at the third-round stage of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup by Manchester City.
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes under-pressure Potter will retain the board's support despite the poor run of form - but says he must deliver in their next game against Leeds on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
He told Sky Sports: "When you are at a big club, and that is Chelsea, when you lose two games in a row, that is the majority of the time already a crisis.
"These owners have come in and they want to go in a different direction and do this project. Potter is their man, so they are going to give him as much time as possible. But they will also expect something back. He is under pressure. That is what happens at big clubs.
"It's the nature of the game. The only way he's going to be able to control it is by winning his next game against Leeds.
"It's good to hear that they are together and that it is a project and they are going to stick together. But on the other hand, as a manager of Chelsea, you also need to give something. You need to buy yourself time and that means you need to have some kind of results.
"At the moment, the results are not there, so the pressure on top of it is only going to get more."
Saturday March 4: Leeds (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
Tuesday March 7: Borussia Dortmund (H) - Champions League, kick-off 8pm
Saturday March 11: Leicester (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
Saturday March 18: Everton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Saturday April 1: Aston Villa (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
