Chelsea Progress In Talks With Manchester City Over Raheem Sterling Transfer

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling in the coming week, according to a new report.

The 27-year-old has made his mark in a City shirt since signing for the club from Liverpool in 2015 for a reported fee of £49 million.

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling (Image: Alamy)

During his seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, the England international has racked up a staggering tally of 131 goals and 94 assists in 337 appearances across all competitions.

In recent seasons however, Sterling has seen his playing time dwindle as the Manchester City attacking ranks grew in depth - despite being a regular first-choice pick for Pep Guardiola’s first two Premier League title victories between 2017-2019.

Raheem Sterling has for long believed to be keen on a move abroad at some point in his career, particularly a potential switch to La Liga giants Real Madrid, with Barcelona understood to have been keen on taking him on loan last season too.

Raheem Sterling arriving at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge (Image: Alamy)

This has all changed however, as Sterling looks to be closing in on a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea in an effort to find more playing time ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

According to a new report by Martin Blackburn of The Sun, talks between the two clubs have progressed well over the weekend but no fee has been agreed as of yet. 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and forward Raheem Sterling (Image: Alamy)

It has been revealed Manchester City have come to terms with the fact they will likely not be able to hold on to the 27-year-old despite being keen on extending his contract, which is currently set to expire in 2023.

The Etihad hierarchy are further said to be holding out for a fee greater than the £45 million they just recently received for Gabriel Jesus for his move to Arsenal, which was officially confirmed on Monday morning. 

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling in action (Image: Alamy)

However, early reports of the Sterling saga have suggested that Chelsea’s initial offers have been well below the asking price, which is believed to be between £50-60 million.

Elsewhere for the Premier League champions, their busy summer window continues this week as they announced the arrival of Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United on a six-year contract for a deal totalling £45 million.

Phillips will join the growing list of incomings at the club this summer, as Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Stefan Ortega have already completed their respective moves to the Etihad Stadium.