LONDON: Raheem Sterling heads a group of nine Chelsea players frozen out of the first-team picture — quite literally.

The 30-year-old winger and eight other stars have no profile or photo in the first-team section of Chelsea's official website, as the club scrambles to offload unwanted names before the transfer window shuts on Sept 1.

The list includes players returning to Cobham this week following a break after the Club World Cup, but their absence from the squad page is telling.

It's the latest development in a chaotic window that has seen Chelsea's first-team balloon to 47 players, thanks to another round of lavish spending, including the £60million signing of Joao Pedro.

Among those missing from the site are striker Armando Broja and midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, who are both edging closer to permanent moves to Burnley.

But Broja and fellow academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist aren't the only ones on the chopping block. Seven other players, signed for more than £200million combined, are also in limbo, despite still officially being at the club.

Big-money signings like Ben Chilwell (£50m), Axel Disasi (£38m), Carney Chukwuemeka (£15m) and Lesley Ugochukwu (£23.5m) have all been left off the official roster, despite returning to training at Cobham.

Sterling, a £47.5m signing from Manchester City in 2022, sealed a deadline-day loan to Arsenal last summer and has not played a part in Maresca's plans since.

Chilwell and Disasi both spent the second half of last season on loan at Crystal Palace and Aston Villa respectively.

Chukwuemeka, signed from Aston Villa, returned to Chelsea this summer after six months at Borussia Dortmund, while Ugochukwu is back following a season at Southampton.

Forgotten forward David Datro Fofana, who joined from Molde for £10.5m in January 2023, also finds himself in the shadows.