Former Man Utd manager wants Chelsea forward amid ‘strongest interest’ claim
The club managed by a former Manchester United boss are reportedly one of two showing the ‘strongest interest’ in a Chelsea forward this summer.
Chelsea have signed forwards Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens this summer. There were already few opportunities for some forwards last season, and that’s only likely to be increased now.
The likes of Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix spent time out on loan last term, and both are believed to be available this summer, with clubs keen to sign both.
For Sterling, he could soon be under the watch of former Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag. Indeed, Caught Offside reports Bayer Leverkusen are interested in signing him on loan this summer.
Leverkusen and Juventus are said to have shown the ‘strongest interest’ in the forward so far. A deal is complicated by the Blues’ asking price of approximately £21.7m and Sterling’s high wages, though.
Leverkusen would ‘only be willing’ to sign the forward on loan, with a portion of his wages still to be paid by Chelsea. If a compromise can be struck, the report states talks ‘could take place soon’.
Interestingly, it’s not the first time this summer that Sterling has been wanted by a former United boss. It was reported in mid-June that he had held face-to-face talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who wanted to sign him at Besiktas.
That report also suggested that Sterling wanted to continue to play in Europe.
There is of course that chance with either Leverkusen or Juventus, or an unnamed side who are said to be interested in signing Sterling.
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Trusted transfer site The Athletic recently reported that a club in the Champions League were interested in signing Sterling, after it was said his price had been set by Chelsea at £20million – very similar to the info of the fresh report.
Both Leverkusen and Juve are in next season’s Champions League, so there is a chance that the club referred to in the recent report was one of them, but they were not named.
It is not mentioned what Juventus’ thoughts are on the move, in terms of whether they would be willing to pay the asking price for Sterling, or if they’d be more likely to want him on loan.
Given they have attempted to pay a small fee for United forward Jadon Sancho, it might be unlikely that they’d pay in the region of £20million for Sterling.
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