Chelsea have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as an alternative to Barcelona's Ousmane Dembélé, who is seen as their primary target with the summer transfer window opening approaching.
Chelsea's attack stuttered during 2021/22 with not enough goals being scored by the likes of club record signing Romelu Lukaku, with the other forward players also struggling to find the back of the net. This is one of the reasons why the Blues fell so off the pace at the top of the Premier League from December onwards with Liverpool's and Man City's attacking trios outscoring their London counterparts.
However, new attacking signings are not expected through the door this summer unless space is freed up in the current squad, football.london understands.
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"I think the key to potential arrivals in the final third – barring Dembele because of his contract situation – will depend on who from the current attack moves on: the futures of Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku are all up in the air at the moment," Chelsea's Chief correspondent for football.london Adam Newson updated in his latest Q&A segment.
With Dembele looking set to depart Barcelona in the summer, the the Frenchman could be reuniting with manager Thomas Tuchel at the expense of Christian Pulisic, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool. Despite Paris Saint-Germain dropping out of the race to sign former Dortmund star Dembele as they reportedly focus in on Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe, it's still not guaranteed that 25-year-old will end up in west London, with free agents of his calibre and quality highly sought after. Therefore, Chelsea need to find a transfer back-up and Pep Guardiola may be about to aid them in this task.
According to Spanish outlet AS via Sport Witness, Manchester City winger Sterling has been 'offered' to Chelsea with the Premier League champions apparently open to accepting offers under his market value. City have already signed Julian Alvarez and Norwegian star Erling Haaland this summer, so some movement in the attack may be expected with both Sterling and Riyad Mahrez already linked with moves away form the Etihad.
As far as Sterling is concerned, his current contract expires in the summer of 2023 and with no new deal imminent, this summer and January 2023 are the last two opportunities for City to make some money on their winger who has been instrumental in so many of their trophy wins over the last decade.
In the situation where Chelsea were to submit a bid if Sterling was to be signed alongside Dembele or as an alternative to him, England icon David James has already weighed in with his verdict as he urged the player in question to stay put exactly where he is.
Speaking to GGRecon, he said: "The easy answer is, stay at City! First of all you’re going to have an opportunity to win trophies. He gets the game time, as I say, with the rotation, Raheem’s one of those 24, 25 league appearance players.
"You’re going to get enough regular time in a successful side. It’s going to be a little bit congested before the World Cup but within that you’re going to get enough game time, and enough rest I would argue, to be fresher for a World Cup.
"With regards to Chelsea," James added. "I mean this is a testament to how well Raheem Sterling has done, linking him to Real Madrid and Chelsea; the two massive European champions in recent years.
"Manchester City, Chelsea, or Real Madrid wouldn’t do Raheem Sterling any harm for playing in the World Cup. You do question, given how soon the World Cup is, and what can happen with a move - like with Manchester to London, for example - there might not be the external adjustment that could affect form.
"He’s an experienced player so you would like to think that he would handle that. If there is a move and it is to Chelsea or Real Madrid, it shouldn’t be a problem for Raheem. He’s more than capable of doing the performances on the field. It’s a pat on the back for Raheem.”
Chelsea fans- if you could only choose between Ousmane Dembele and Raheem Sterling, who would you want the club to sign? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
