After apparently reaching an agreement on personal terms with Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, Chelsea is closing in on the first significant acquisition of the Todd Boehly era at Stamford Bridge.
Sterling's transfer to London is "imminent," but the parties have not yet agreed on a price. The 27-year-old Sterling is entering the final year of his deal at the Etihad, but City are anticipated to demand a transfer fee of around £45 million. Since moving from Liverpool to City in 2015, the England international has won nine major trophies, including four Premier League championships.
Sterling, who was an important member of City's team in Pep Guardiola's early years in charge, has 131 goals in 337 appearances for the English champions.
However, the Premier League record £100 million acquisition of Jack Grealish last year and the rise of Phil Foden from the club's academy have made his regular spot in the starting lineup at City increasingly in jeopardy.
With the addition of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, City has also improved their attacking options for the upcoming campaign.
After allowing record acquisition Romelu Lukaku return to Inter Milan on loan after spending £97 million on the Belgian striker, Chelsea is in need of goal scorers. After the regime shift fundamentally transformed the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, the new chairman Boehly has positioned himself at the forefront of the transfer negotiations with the American also serving as interim sporting director.
It was revealed today that Raheem Sterling will join Chelsea this week after reaching a personal agreement with the organization.
It only remained to work out his new deal in West London under an existing £45 million arrangement with Man City.
The Telegraph's report on the upcoming transfer is that Sterling would earn £300,000 a week, making him the club's highest-paid player now that Romelu Lukaku has left on loan to Inter.
Usually, bringing in a new top earner can cause discord at a club, but in Sterling's situation, it's difficult to imagine anyone disagreeing. There aren't many players in this current squad who can say they deserve a higher figure than the highly decorated Sterling, who has four Premier League titles and 77 England caps. The only other players who can make that claim are the true legends of this team, Thiago Silva and captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
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