Nine Chelsea players have been omitted from the club's official website ahead of the new season, including former England star Raheem Sterling. Sterling and eight other Blues stars are missing a profile or photo in the senior section of the website. Chelsea have let go of eight first-team players this summer, including Noni Madueke, Joao Felix and Kepa Arrizabalaga, with many more exits anticipated before the transfer window closes.
Sterling is among several players that the Blues are eager to offload, and they have signalled his lack of future at Stamford Bridge by excluding him from the website. Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu are also missing, as they edge closer to transfers to Burnley.
Academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist is another player absent from the website, after spending last season on loan at Sheffield United. The 21-year-old defender is reportedly drawing attention from clubs in the Championship and Saudi Arabia.
Ben Chilwell, who transferred to Chelsea from Leicester for approximately £45million in 2020, has also been left out after being sidelined by Enzo Maresca. Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, Carney Chukwuemeka and David Datro Fofana are the other players not featured.
Interestingly, Mykhailo Mudryk does appear on the website, although he is the only player pictured in last season's kit. Mudryk is currently facing a potential four-year ban after being charged by the FA over Anti-Doping Rule Violations.
The winger has been out of the game since failing a drugs test last November, but Mudryk insists he never intentionally took a banned substance. "I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance," Mudryk stated at the time.
"This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
"I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can."
With Mudryk currently unable to play and Madueke and Felix having departed, Chelsea have bolstered their wide options by signing Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund and Estevao Willian from Palmeiras.