Fresh off a Premier League title and landing one of the best young players in recent memory in Erling Haaland, Manchester City may be in line to get another huge transfer. It is reported that Raheem Sterling may be hoping to make a move to Premier League rivals, Chelsea.
The winger has long been one of Man City’s most productive players over the last few seasons. Sterling has accumulated 23 goals and 12 assists in 61 Premier League matches over the last two seasons but has struggled to find consistent playing time for Pep Guardiola‘s side in the second half go the season. The 27-year-old has about 12 months left on his contract, but it is reported that he is weighing all his options before committing to something long-term.
Sterling’s playing time has seen a sharp decline since March with the continued success of forwards Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden – plus the addition of Haaland and Argentine forward Julian Alvarez. Last season’s acquisition of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa means that steady playing time up for the English winger seems unlikely, Guardiola has expressed that he wants Sterling to stay but Sterling’s future is still up in the air.
Guardiola is not shy about letting go of unhappy players. Shortly after Jesus expressed unhappiness in his playing time, Guardiola granted his transfer request, and he is slated to join Arsenal during the current transfer window. Reportedly, Chelsea was to offer £35 million for a potential move, but Man City wants upwards of about £60 million for their star attacker.
Chelsea has recently been acquired by Todd Boehly after previous owner Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Boehly has said that he wants Chelsea’s players to build their brands. “We think the global footprint of this sport is really undeveloped,” Boehly said. “There are four billion fans of European football. There are 170 million fans of NFL. Global club football is a fraction of the NFL media money. We are also going to be thinking about, how do we get more revenues for the players?” Boehly said.
