As Thomas Tuchel looks to swap his underperforming forward line for a fresher, more potent one, the addition of Raheem Sterling was just an initial indicator as to the route he wanted to go down.
The Englishman's £45m move from Manchester City looks a shrewd signing for Chelsea as they overhaul an ageing squad and look to close the gap on Pep Guardiola's side at the top of the table. With Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech both players that could still leave this summer, Todd Boehly is looking for options to continue an already busy summer transfer window.
With clubs across Europe also hoping to part with their highest earners in a bid to eventually secure younger replacements, PSG have made star winger Neymar available, sparking the interest of Boehly, who has already held conversations with Jorge Mendes over the availability of Cristiano Ronaldo.
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The new owner hasn't shied away from putting himself in the ears of some of football's biggest names, and Neymar certainly fits that bill. The 30-year-old also has previous experience of working under Tuchel, he scored 51 times in 67 games between 2018 and 2020, including 30 assists, an astonishing record.
Although Neymar might be on the move this summer, a host of pundits have warned Chelsea not to go after the Brazilian, citing Sterling's own impressive Premier League record as a reason to steer clear.
"He's too inconsistent for me," former Manchester City winger Trevor Sinclair said of Neymar. "You'll get one good game out of every four. When you compare him with Sterling, if you're a manager and you know you're going to get someone who plays three games out of four where he's top draw, with Neymar you're not getting that consistency."
Sterling's old club have also been linked with a move for Neymar as Pep Guardiola looks to fill a void left by the England vice-captain. Darren Bent thinks that the move would be a downgrade though. "I would rather take Raheem Sterling over Neymar in the Premier League. Sterling, you know what you’re going to get," he said.
With four league titles in the past four years and 109 goals to his name, Sterling comes to Stamford Bridge as one of the most established players in Tuchel's squad. And as the German recruits a mixture of experience and quality, Jack Wilshere joined the bandwagon of Sterling sympathisers, adding, "It is a hard one, I like them both. Going on the cautious side you would take Sterling because you know what you get.
"He is proven. If you were taking a gamble and had all the money in the world which some of these teams do, you would probably take both, or just take Neymar."
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