Chelsea are looking to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in what would be a significant statement of intent from the club’s new owner Todd Boehly.
According to Sky Sports, the Blues have offered £35m for the 27-year-old, but City are holding out for closer to £60m if they are to sell this summer. Sterling’s contract is set to expire in 2023, hence the knockdown fee.
The England international has played a vital role in City’s success since joining for £49m from Liverpool in 2015, helping the club to win four Premier League titles, four Carabao Cups and an FA Cup and reach the club’s first Champions League final in 2021, when they were beaten by Chelsea.
Sterling has scored 131 goals in 339 appearances for the club and is second only to Sergio Aguero for Premier League goals scored in a City shirt, which further underlines his impact at the Etihad.
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Sterling started only 23 Premier League games in 2021-22 which was his lowest across an entire campaign since Guardiola became City manager in 2016. Guardiola possesses an abundance of wide players with Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez all capable of playing on the flanks.
And with City’s frontline set to be shaken up following the £51m arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, Sterling may feel that regular game time would be more likely at Stamford Bridge – which is especially pertinent this season with the World Cup beginning in November.
Why do Chelsea want him?
Like Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel is expected to make big changes to his attack, with Romelu Lukaku expected to return to Inter Milan following a disappointing season in west London. Negotiations between Chelsea and Inter are underway over a loan deal for Lukaku, who re-joined the Blues for a club-record £97.5m last August.
While Sterling would not be a like-for-like replacement for Lukaku, it seems unlikely that Tuchel would want a player with that sort of profile anyway given the Belgian’s struggles. Lukaku scored only 15 times in 44 appearances and Chelsea tended to look a more cohesive unit when he wasn’t involved.
Lukaku was far from the only Chelsea player to find goals hard to come by, however. Although Chelsea were only outscored by Manchester City and Liverpool last season, their leading scorer and only player to reach double figures for goals, was Mason Mount with 11. Kai Havertz and Lukaku scored eight each, Christian Pulisic netted six times and Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner registered four apiece.
Despite having a relatively quiet campaign by his standards, Sterling still managed 13 league goals and his efficiency in front of goal would certainly come in handy at Stamford Bridge.
Where would he fit in?
Tuchel has tended to use a 3-4-3 formation throughout his time at Chelsea. The roles of the wide players in the front three have often been tweaked, however, depending on whether Tuchel has selected quick wide forwards to stretch the play (Werner, Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi), or else creative playmakers who narrow it (Mount, Havertz, Ziyech).
Sterling has played in both roles for City and occasionally through the middle too, but his most productive spell under Guardiola came when he played as a right-sided winger between 2017-20. From 2017-18 to 2019-20, Sterling recorded 18 goals and 11 assists; 17 goals and 10 assists; and 20 goals and one assist. During that period, Sterling excelled at timing his runs to the far post to score tap-ins, or getting to the byline to pull the ball back to a teammate to finish from inside the penalty area.
That would presumably be how Tuchel would utilise him to, given the importance of width to Chelsea’s attacking play. The wing-backs – usually Reece James and Ben Chilwell – are integral, operating high and wide to fire crosses into the box or else finish off moves at the back post. Adding an accomplished penalty box finisher to the side, would give James and Chilwell an additional target to pick out.
Sterling has also grown accustomed to playing in a team that doesn’t have a traditional focal point in the No 9 position which could come in useful if Havertz becomes Chelsea’s main centre forward. Havertz, unlike Lukaku, is more of a playmaker than a finisher and possesses exceptional movement as well as the ability to create goalscoring chances for his teammates.
Seeing Sterling in a royal rather than sky blue shirt would take some getting used to, but it would be a deal that would make a great deal of sense for both player and buyer.
Analysis: Kounde and a Lukaku replacement top Chelsea’s needs this summer
By Daniel Storey, i‘s chief football writer
With the takeover saga completed as quickly, and painlessly, as anyone could have hoped for, Chelsea now go into the summer in a far better place than might have been expected. The group led by Todd Boehly have paid a high price to acquire a superclub and it would make little sense to them or Chelsea to restrict spending significantly this summer.
There will clearly be funds available for Thomas Tuchel to improve the squad after a season that was, at best, par. Chelsea’s only trophies were legacies of 2020-21, the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup.
The departure of Antonio Rudiger leaves a significant hole and was one of the hangovers of the ownership uncertainty that dogged Chelsea’s form on the pitch from February onwards. Jules Kounde has long been a target and Chelsea may well get that done, albeit at a significant premium. Even then, Thiago Silva will be another year older and Andreas Christensen has also left on a free transfer. Kounde will not be enough.
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The striker situation needs sorting, because if Tuchel stays it’s hard to see how Romelu Lukaku has a role. That leaves Chelsea exactly where they seem to have been since Diego Costa left, needing a No 9 presence who will be prolific without stepping on the toes of the attacking midfielders behind them. Chelsea are a big draw for potential signings (trophies, wages, location), but some strikers must look at how others have struggled and wonder whether it is the right home for them.
With Ben Chilwell coming back and Reece James flourishing, the first-choice full-backs/wing-backs appear fine, as does central midfield. But then that might all depend on the extension of expiring contracts. N’Golo Kante and Jorginho both have deals that end next summer, as do Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. In each of those positions, future proofing by recruiting younger players this summer would make a good deal of sense.
Finally, Tuchel would surely not be averse to another wide forward, given that neither Hakim Ziyech nor Christian Pulisic have quite hit their intended heights. That probably depends upon a sale or two, but Raheem Sterling’s name does keep getting mentioned.
Read Daniel’s full article here
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