Raheem Sterling to Chelsea: Tuchel can give Man City attacker the guarantees he wants
Robin Bairner
- 10 Jun 2022 09:25 BST
- 3 min read
Raheem Sterling could be a victim of Manchester City’s summer clearout, with Chelsea linked with a transfer for the England attacker.
Sterling played 47 times for Pep Guardiola’s side in all competitions last season, scoring 17 goals and creating nine more in the process, but having once been a trusted starter of the manager, he was notably benched regularly for the Champions League.
Indeed, having come off a personal best 2019/20 season, in which he scored 31 goals, Sterling has only managed that figure in the last two terms combined.
Still only 27, The Sun reports that Sterling is interested in moving to Stamford Bridge – but only if he is given the type of game time he desires.
It is stated that the attacker is, naturally, seeking to play regularly ahead of the World Cup, which begins in Qatar in November.
Why Man City could sell Sterling
Meanwhile, Man City could be willing sellers because the England man is moving into the last year of his contract. With Guardiola apparently having an overhaul to his attack in mind – Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez will join the club – this is a logical point at which to offload Sterling.
Sterling’s possible arrival does not mean that Thomas Tuchel is about to drastically change his Chelsea squad, which has typically operated in a 3-4-2-1 formation this season. The former Liverpool youth has the capacity and flexibility to play in a narrower role, with Guardiola even deploying him as a centre forward on occasion this season.
Given his versatility and quality, it is easy to see him given the type of game time he requires to make the England World Cup squad.
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The Blues have also been linked with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, who is more of an outright winger. Sterling’s arrival would make more logical sense given that the England international is more obviously adaptable and therefore capable of being moulded into Chelsea’s system.
Equally, though, his arrival would do little to solve the Blues’ big ongoing headache, which remains the No.9 role.
The rumblings around Chelsea suggest that Tuchel is targeting another attacking midfielder, and to that end, Sterling’s arrival would make sense.
