Chelsea are close to striking a deal for an England star that looked wholly unlikely at the start of the transfer window
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Chelsea and Manchester City's talks over a deal for Raheem Sterling are reportedly at an advanced stage.
It’s been more than a month since Todd Boehly’s consortium completed their takeover of the two-time European champions, but the Blues have still yet to make a signing this summer.
Could Sterling become the first? The England forward is thought to be one of Thomas Tuchel’s top targets as he looks to revamp his attack.
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According to Sky Sports, the two clubs are ‘close’ to settling on a fee for the 27-year-old – with a figure of £45m widely reported.
It could be one of the most sensational moves of the summer, a rare modern-day transfer involving a player in his prime between two Premier League giants. That said, as English football continues to pull away from the rest of Europe financially, such switches are bound to become increasingly common.
Indeed, City have just sold Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal at the same price for which Sterling might head to Stamford Bridge. And if Sterling is, as appears to be the case, open to joining Chelsea, they ought to be pulling out all the stops to make that happen.
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In 2021/22, for the second season running, no Blues forward scored double figures in the Premier League.
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Romelu Lukaku flopped badly following his club-record return to West London, netting just eight times – ultimately rejoining Inter Milan on loan last week. Sterling, though, despite making only 23 league starts last term, bagged 13 goals for Pep Guardiola’s champions.
With more regular starts – which would surely be a determining factor in any move – he may well have a Golden Boot campaign in him.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
