Chelsea ‘attractive to’ Sterling as Blues prepare opening £60m bid for Man City winger

Will Ford
Raheem Sterling, who's attracted Arsenal interest

Chelsea are reportedly ready to make an opening bid for Manchester City star Raheem Sterling.

Sterling enjoyed another impressive season for Pep Guardiola’s side, with 17 goals and nine assists in 47 appearances.


READ MORE: Chelsea closing Roman’s revolving door to copy Liverpool and Manchester City?


But City have a ludicrous wealth of options in those forward areas, with Erling Haaland the latest star name to be added to the Etihad ranks

A report on Tuesday claimed Sterling ‘considers his time at Manchester City to be over’ and the club are said to be willing to sell him for less than his market value, which stands at £76.5m according to Transfermarkt.

Sterling admitted his desire to play abroad midway through last season, with Real Madrid and Barcelona among the clubs he’s been offered to, as per that report.

But while City would prefer not to sell him to a Premier League rival, Chelsea were also among that group, and The Telegraph now claim that the west London club are in pole position to land the England international.

Given City want £50-£60m for Sterling, they may be limited to selling him to a direct rival and Chelsea are are said to be ready to make an opening bid.

What’s more, despite his interest in moving abroad, the report also claims that ‘an offer from Chelsea would also be attractive to him and offer the chance to return to London, where he grew up’.

Centre-backs remain Chelsea’s priority this summer, with Jules Kounde reportedly the top target, but Thomas Tuchel is ‘acutely aware that he needs to add more goals and assists to his attack’.

He’s open to allowing Romelu Lukaku to leave, but the club believe it would difficult to replace the Belgian with a top quality out-and-out striker, meaning Sterling – who has hit double figures in each of his last five Premier League seasons – could be a good option to add goal contributions from wide areas.

The decision will be made by Thomas Tuchel, who has reportedly been handed complete transfer control by new owner Todd Boehly.

The Blues have also been linked with Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele, who’s out of contract this summer, and RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku.

Tuchel is set to be handed £200m to spend on transfers this summer, but could make further funds through transfer funds.

Along with the future of Romelu Lukaku, Tuchel is also set to make decisions on the futures of Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech.