Chelsea have been handed the chance to sign one of their major summer 2022 targets after Barcelona's continued financial problems leaves little choice but to sell off assets. In what appears to be a repeat of the summer window, the Catalan side need to flog a star or two in order to afford their new plans.
With a squad piled high full of attackers, Chelsea may well be keen to re-establish talks with one of the players on the outside of that. Although the Blues themselves need to sell off a host of their own forwards they will also be open to deals that emerge.
Christopher Nkunku will join for the new season but a new striker is high on the priority list whilst the potential sale of five first team attackers would create room for more additions. Raheem Sterling, who once again failed to impress during the 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Tuesday, could be in that group.
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The 28-year-old has been far from his best since moving to Stamford Bridge last year and was targeted for criticism by fans watching as he struggle yet again against the Gunners. Pitted on the left side of a front three, Sterling lost possession 13 times in the first half alone.
He has, alongside the other highly paid forwards, been unable to form a cohesive unit or to produce enough moments of individual quality in order to create match-winning contributions. One player who certainly does that is Barcelona's Raphinha.
The winger was close to joining Chelsea last year after a bid was accepted by Leeds only for the Brazilian to turn his back on the Blues, choosing Spain at the 11th hour instead. Now, with Ousmane Dembele to compete with as well as Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, Juan Laporta has a big choice to make.
Due to the price it would take to move Dembele on just 12 months after agreeing a new contract with him until 2024, Raphinha is the only other true sellable asset in reality. With four years left of his deal and around £10m per year of wages, it would still take £88m to get him away from Camp Nou according to AS.
It makes a potential deal appear unlikely due to the sheer cost, he only moved to Barcelona for £55m last summer, but should Chelsea wish to return to a player they were keen on 12 months ago and look for an alternative to Sterling, they already know the price it will take.
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