Chelsea are approaching the signing of Raheem Sterling after agreeing personal terms with the Manchester City striker.
Sterling has told City it is the right time for him to leave and he is expected to become the first signer with the new property at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea aim to end a £ 45million fee in the next 24 hours and expect the England international to join the squad when he flies to the United States on Saturday for his pre-season tour .
The deal would be a big boost for Thomas Tuchel, who has held constructive talks with Sterling about where he plans to use it. Chelsea lacked cruelty last season and need additions in attack after allowing Romelu Lukaku to return to the loaned Internazionale.
Sterling, who has won four Premier League titles since joining City from Liverpool in 2015, is expected to boost Chelsea’s vanguard. The 27-year-old striker, who sparked interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, scored 17 goals last season.
However, Sterling has not been a regular starter for Pep Guardiola’s side in the most important matches of the last two years and wants to leave City, who have sold Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal for £ 45 million, to play more regularly. He has not fallen for the club, thanks Guardiola for improving his tactical awareness and his thinking is not based on money. Sterling, whose £ 300,000 a week deal expires next year, has received assurances from Tuchel that he will be a key player at Chelsea.
Tuchel wants to create a more flexible and versatile attack. Lukaku did not fit into his system after a £ 97.5 million move from Inter last summer, and Chelsea know it will not be easy to reach number 9. Robert Lewandowski is a potential target, but the prolific Bayern Munich striker remains ready to join Barcelona. .
This has led Chelsea to focus on agile players who can score goals. They agreed on a £ 55m deal with Leeds for Raphinha last week, only for the Brazilian winger to indicate that his preference is to join Barcelona. It remains to be seen whether Barça, which has suffered a major financial crisis, can agree on a fee. The league club is still in talks with Ousmane Dembélé over a contract extension. Chelsea have tried to sign the winger for free.
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Chelsea, who could let Hakim Ziyech join Milan on loan, are also focused on strengthening their defense after losing Andreas Christensen to Barcelona and Antonio Rüdiger to Real Madrid. They are also in talks with City over a deal for Nathan Aké, who wants to play more regularly. It is also understood that Matthijs de Ligt is still open to joining Chelsea even though Bayern are aiming for the Juventus defender. Other Chelsea goals include Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli and Jules Koundé of Sevilla.
The central midfielder is also a problem for Chelsea, with N’Golo Kanté and Jorginho without a contract next summer. They are monitoring the evolution of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, who is a key target for Manchester United, and have an eye on Matheus Nunes of Sporting de Lisbon, who has also been spotted by City. However, Chelsea have made no move for Nunes.
Chelsea are also considering a move for Cristiano Ronaldo, who wants to leave United. Todd Boehly, the club’s new president, is intrigued by the idea of signing Ronaldo, but there are doubts about whether Tuchel wants the Portuguese striker.