On the face of it, Raheem Sterling is one of the Premier League's most productive attackers. 109 goals in 309 appearances for both Liverpool and Manchester City, either hitting or surpassing double figures across the last five seasons. His tally of 13 last term would have placed him top of Chelsea's league scorers.
That is not even to mention his technique, creativity or movement that have made him such an outstanding player since breaking through under Brendan Rodgers at Anfield at the beginning of the last decade.
But to Chelsea fans, they have faced all of this before, there have bought into the no-brainer before being burnt.
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Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner are the two most recent examples of sort-after attackers who failed to replicate the brilliance they had shown elsewhere.
The rumour of Chelsea's interest in the 27-year-old has split opinion. The red flags point towards his profligate nature, the glaring misses that for a highly creative City team can be masked, whilst at Chelsea who create less, the misses would be more costly. Some have pointed to his age, would the Blues be purchasing the most hungry player who has already dominated the league?
Others, with less substance, have pointed to aesthetic preferences, that he simply is not a fun player to watch, which doesn't seem like the strongest reason for not signing a player.
All of this links into the attacking confusion at Chelsea. Since 2019, over £300million has been spent on improving the final third, it's a figure that has regularly been repeated but it is a stark one that shouldn't be dismissed easily.
You will get different views on why the attack has failed to click. The profile and quality of players do not match the demands of the Premier League, the system both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel have played. In the unique case of Lukaku, people will point to personality and the perceived lack of respect shown to the club or the coach.
All of these factors have their toes in reality, the sheer amount spent and little value in return is startling although Chelsea's new ownership under Todd Boehly cannot allow a culture of blame to seep in too deep. Chelsea need to act, some of that is shedding unwanted names like Lukaku, who looks set to return to Inter Milan on a loan. Another solution is trying to invest in names who can make a difference.
Sterling does tick a few boxes. He is Premier League proven, which counts for something when we look at the likes of Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz who have all faced their own struggles since arriving. He plays in a pressing system that dominates the ball, he is used to facing deep defensive lines on a frequent basis.
The reverse could be applied to Werner, who looked stunned when suddenly faced with defensive lines that did not start at the halfway line, or in the case of Lukaku, operated under Antonio Conte in a more transition-based system that allowed him to run into space from his favoured right-channel.
Tuchel himself needs to take responsibility, Chelsea still is a team highly reliant on individual execution from a limited amount of chances to succeed. The margin for error is too thin, reflected in the reality that only Leicester and Aston Villa outperformed their Expected Goals more than Chelsea in the 2021/22 Premier League season. Misses have been costly, but the quality of those chances is not frequent enough to compete with the top two.
Sterling should be a player that injects excitement into supporters. His prime age, proven track record and suitable attributes, should be a more sensible buy than others that have revealed themselves to be flawed in the past three years. But given everything that has gone wrong, it is easy to see why fans are seeing more red flags than green ones.
