Chelsea are on the verge of making their first major signing of the summer transfer window after they agreed a £45million – plus £10m in add-ons – fee for Raheem Sterling. The 27-year-old is now expected to sign for the Blues on a five-year deal, with personal terms already agreed.
Sterling has been managing talks over his future in order to get what is best for him on the footballing side of proceedings. The England international made just 23 starts in the Premier League last season in Manchester City's title-winning campaign.
The former Liverpool winger believes Chelsea will offer him more frequent first-team football, and Thomas Tuchel is said to have made him reassurances over the matter. The Blues are confident Sterling will add firepower to their under-performing attacking line.
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If Gary Neville's past comments are anything to go by, then Chelsea should reap the rewards when it comes to Sterling. The Sky Sports pundit, who coached Sterling when he was part of the England coaching setup, believes the winger has improved massively since making the move from Liverpool to Manchester City in 2015.
Neville said last year: "He has been a key player [for England]. Raheem is someone who at Manchester City in these last three or four years has basically torn it up.
"His goals and assists have got to a level of real high quality for England and Manchester City. It's a level where when he was at Liverpool, you might have viewed him as inconsistent and erratic in the final moment. But with the work that Pep [Guardiola] has done with him at Manchester City, there is no doubt that he has become someone who plays on the left-hand side."
Sterling, who is expected to earn around £ 300,000 a week if he does complete the move to Chelsea, is set to join up with the rest of the squad in the United States for the club's pre-season tour. If Sterling is signed in time, he could make his first outing for Chelsea in their friendly against Club America in Las Vegas.
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