The transfer window has now officially opened and Chelsea have a huge summer to look forward to under the Clearlake-Boehly ownership. The new owners have promised to invest heavily in the summer and fully provide their support to Thomas Tuchel who wants to strengthen his side to close the gap between Manchester City and Liverpool next season. According to sources around the club, Tuchel is set to have the power regarding all the transfer deals this summer similar to what his German counterpart Jurgen Klopp and Man City’s Pep Guardiola have at their respective clubs. This is certainly good news for the Chelsea faithful who have seen managers leave the club for not being backed and not having any say in the transfers.
Todd Boehly and co. are set to make atleast 2 “statement signings” this summer with the Americans reportedly looking to lure Raheem Sterling to Stamford Bridge as a marquee acquisition this summer. The English winger’s contract at Manchester City expires in 12 months and no extension has been offered by the Man City board yet. Sterling’s minutes next season could reduce considerably with the Citizens signing Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland to bolster their attack. With the two summer acquisitions, City now have Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez for the front three attacking positions. Gabriel Jesus is also reportedly looking to leave the Manchester club with Arsenal and Chelsea touted as the two most possible destinations.
Let’s take analyse whether Raheem Sterling to Chelsea makes sense or will it end up in another unnecessary signing for the Blues.
Tuchel’s current attacking options
Chelsea’s last two summer transfer windows have been rather disastrous for the Blues with the club spending close to 250 million pounds on four attacking reinforcements. They haven’t been able to live up to their potential at the London club with Kai Havertz being the only player who has stepped up his performances in the recently concluded season with the German scoring 14 times and assisting 4 times in all competitions. Timo Werner has had two consecutive disappointing seasons with the striker failing to reach the 20-goal mark in any of the two seasons. Hakim Ziyech has struggled with injuries and hasn’t been able to adjust to Thomas Tuchel’s 3-4-3 system. Romelu Lukaku, the 97.5 million pound signing from Italian giants Inter Milan, finished the season being the club’s top scorer in all competitions with 15 goals but things off the pitch have overshadowed his performances on the pitch. The Belgian is already looking to return to Italy this season after failing to impress Tuchel with sources citing he has “0 relationship” with the German manager.
The Blues are looking to rebuild their attack with the club willing to listen to offers for Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic alongwith Romelu Lukaku.
Premier League Pedigree
None of Thomas Tuchel’s attacking options have any experience playing in the Premier League. This has cost Chelsea in recent years with the new signings needing “time to adapt” which has resulted in the team suffering in the final third.
Raheem Sterling on the other hand has spent his entire first-team career in the top flight and will need no time adapting to the league. He has been lethal under Pep Guardiola ever since his move to the Citizens from Liverpool with the winger netting 120 goals and providing 85 assists in 292 appearances. The 27-year-old has certainly played his best football with the Citizens and would be an upgrade on all of the current winger options Tuchel has.
Author’s Verdict
The transfer does make sense for Chelsea who would be getting a player who will reach his prime years and would play a key role at the club for the next 5 seasons at least. If Chelsea can manage to sign Sterling for a fee of around 55 million pounds instead of trying to sign another player from abroad, it would be a very smart signing for the Blues. The Englishman has played in a 3 at the back system for Gareth Southgate and would fit in perfectly on the left side of the attack if Tuchel decides to not change his system next season. Manchester City’s willingness to lose their key player to a rival is a huge plus point in negotiations.
