Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling remains Chelsea’s number one target and could be signed for a fee between £40m and £45m, according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs.
Speaking on the Si and Dan Talk Chelsea podcast, Jacobs claimed that Sterling is the Blues’ leading candidate to strengthen up front, with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele seen as the backup option:
"Sterling is the No.1 target, I think the fee will be £40m-£45m.
"Tuchel said directly to Boehly he admires Dembele. Chelsea are put off by high wages, this needs discussing internally. No chance for PSG."
– @JacobsBen on @SiandDanTalkCFC Podcast 👇https://t.co/0rT8LPEzTY pic.twitter.com/Yl0IsEs8GT
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) June 23, 2022
Supporters on Twitter are pretty happy with Sterling’s asking price, and many are now hoping that Chelsea press ahead and get a move over the line for the England international:
40m for sterling is unreal if true
— Kai 💫 (@allchelsea29) June 23, 2022
Very good fee for a baller
— Dillon (@CFCDillon) June 23, 2022
Bargain for Sterling that. Please make this happen🙏🏻
— Jamie (@Jamie00718361) June 23, 2022
40m is a bargain for Sterling
— Jack (@jack10cfc) June 23, 2022
45m for Sterling isn’t bad
— 4PF (@pengriffey_x) June 23, 2022
Sign asap please
— B U C H I ⭐⭐ (@Buchi_victor8) June 23, 2022
40-45 Million is just perfect, if anything it's a bargain, would move on from Dembele now to be honest and focus on getting Sterling in 🙏
— Tom Clifford ⭐⭐ (@tomcliffordcfc) June 23, 2022
40m for Sterling is class
— toby🎯 (@CFCTobs) June 23, 2022
The £40m figure is certainly a lot more appealing than Sterling’s original valuation, which was reported to be as much as £60m. While it is still a sizeable fee, considering the 27-year-old has a year remaining on his contract, it does correlate with the amount Bayern Munich paid Liverpool for Sadio Mane, who was in a similar position.
Considering Sterling is a few years younger than Mane, whilst also about to hit his prime years, it looks as if Chelsea would be getting a pretty decent deal.