Chelsea are about to take a major leap under their new owners by trying to sign Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, as per Sky Sports.
Sterling has one year left on his contract but as per reports, he is yet to agree to a new deal meaning Manchester City could be open to selling him this summer in order to avoid losing him for free.
Arsenal have a long-standing interest in signing the England international but it looks like the Gunners might fall behind as Chelsea pick up their interest in the winger.
The 27-year-old has found it hard to get regular starts in recent times and after Jack Grealish’s arrival, things have gotten even more challenging for him. This season, Raheem Sterling started in only 23 Premier League games but still managed to score 13 goals in the process.
Chelsea are confident about signing Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in a deal worth around $43M, reports @DiMarzio ⏳ pic.twitter.com/lJ0gCkEsUU
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 19, 2022
Can Arsenal stand up against Chelsea?
Mikel Arteta knows Raheem Sterling very well from his Manchester City days which is one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal want to bring him on board.
However, if Chelsea do decide to make a formal offer we don’t think Arsenal will stand any chance of signing the 27-year-old. Sterling has no loyalty to Arsenal while at Chelsea he will get to play in the Champions League and will also have a genuine chance at winning trophies.
Also, Arsenal are still concentrating on signing Gabriel Jesus and Youri Tielemans and until these two deals are wrapped up we doubt if they will shift their emphasis to any other prominent targets.
Will Man City allow Raheem Sterling to leave?
If Raheem Sterling is not going to sign a new deal then City will have no option but to cash in on him but as per the rumours, Man City are going to quote around £50-60 million for his sale.
Arsenal will find it massively hard to pay such a steep price but Chelsea’s new owners are willing to back their manager with adequate funds so spending the said amount will not be a concern for them.
Some experts claim that even though Raheem Sterling is a winger, Chelsea’s move for him will depend on Lukaku’s faith.
Romelu Lukaku wishes to head back to Inter and the Blues are also ready to let him leave so if the Belgian moves out of Stamford Bridge only then will Chelsea try and bring Sterling on board.