Revealed: How Tuchel seal £45million Chelsea transfer as Blues set to announce first summer signing
Raheem Sterling’s transfer to Stamford Bridge this summer was largely influenced by Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, despite Pep Guardiola’s initial desire to keep the England international at Manchester City.
Sterling has had a fantastic career at the Etihad Stadium, but it appears like he is about to leave and join Chelsea, which might be a wise decision for the Blues.
Fabrizio Romano claims in his CaughtOffside Substack that Sterling was eager to leave City and would not have agreed to a new contract offer from Guardiola.
After convincing City to release Sterling as a result, it appears that an arrangement to have the 27-year-old relocate to west London is about to be finalized.
“As I tweeted last night, a deal taking Raheem Sterling to Chelsea is edging closer to completion,” Romano writes. “Personal terms have been fully agreed, while the two clubs are set to agree on a final fee of around £45million for the England international.
“Thomas Tuchel has been key in persuading the player. He promised him an important role for the present and the future of the club.
“Pep Guardiola wanted to keep Sterling and had given the green light to offer him a new deal, but Raheem wanted a new chapter and would not have signed the new contract; that’s why Man City have done well to accept Chelsea’s bid, in my opinion.
“They will end up making £100million from selling Sterling and Gabriel Jesus (with add-ons included) and it’s hard to argue against that being good business.”