Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was key to persuading Raheem Sterling to seal a transfer to Stamford Bridge this summer, despite Pep Guardiola initially wanting to keep the England international at Manchester City.
Sterling has had a superb career at the Etihad Stadium, but is now looks like he’s close to moving on and linking up with Chelsea in what could be a smart move by the Blues.
According to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack, Sterling was eager to leave City and would not have accepted a proposal from Guardiola to sign a new contract.
This eventually persuaded City to let Sterling go, and it now looks like an agreement is close for the 27-year-old to move to west London.
“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.”