Chelsea are reportedly interested in bringing Raheem Sterling to Stamford Bridge this summer. According to a report from the Telegraph, the Blues are the English club 'displaying the greatest interest' in the England international so far.
With the summer transfer window officially opening tomorrow (Friday), it's expected to be a hectic few months for Chelsea under new ownership. Plenty of outgoings are expected from the club, while incomings will also be on the agenda as Thomas Tuchel looks to build a squad capable of challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in next season's Premier League.
Over recent days, the Blues have been linked with a host of attackers following the news that Romelu Lukaku wishes to leave the club this summer. Gabriel Jesus is a target, football.london understands, but it seems one of the Brazilian's City teammates, Sterling, is also on the shortlist.
READ MORE: Raheem Sterling has already told Thomas Tuchel what he needs to complete Chelsea transfer
The report (see above) states that Sterling, who has one year remaining on his contract with Man City, is attracting interest from around Europe. Real Madrid are said to be keeping a close eye on the situation, but out of the English teams interested, Chelsea are the ones paying the most attention.
Sterling has been sensational in his almost seven years in Manchester - with the former Liverpool attacker scoring 91 goals in 225 Premier League games. The 27-year-old, though, has not been guaranteed a place in Pep Guardiola's team over the last season, with City having a host of talented attackers to choose from.
The England international has shown throughout his time at City that he's one of the league's strongest attackers. He's developed a knack for finding himself in the right place and has almost turned into a poacher in front of goal despite playing on the wing.
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, when speaking about Sterling after England's 4-0 win over Ukraine in Euro 2020 last summer, called the Blues target "world-class". He said to BBC Sport: "He's excellent. I love him as a player.
"He's had a dip in form, and he'll admit that, but what we're seeing now is the player we've seen for the last three years. If I'm talking to a young, wannabe winger now who wants to play, he's an example on the pitch and off the pitch.
"He's had tough times, but he's coming through it, and he looks like a man. He's just a world-class player."
Rio Ferdinand, who was working alongside Lampard for BBC at the Euros, added: "He's undoubtedly been our [England's] best player at this tournament, our most effective player. There's a steeliness about him. He's mentioned in that VT [before the game] there that he's had criticism during his career. He's always answered the criticism.
"He's very single-minded, he's focused, he thinks about, not just the pitch, but there's other things that come into play. The mentality, the understanding of what he needs to do off the pitch in terms of preparation and recovery, the detail he goes into to make sure he plays and performs at this level continuously."
Something that could dent Chelsea's hopes of landing Sterling this summer is that he admitted in October 2021 that he would consider moving abroad at one stage in his career. With Real Madrid reportedly interested, the Jamaica-born winger could favour a switch to the Spanish capital.
He said last year: "If there was the option to go somewhere else for more game time, I would be open to it. As an English player, all I know is the Premier League, and I've always thought: 'You know, maybe one day I'd love to play abroad and see how I would come up against that challenge.'"
