Raheem Sterling plans to resolve his contractual situation at Chelsea before switching his focus to finding a new club this week. Sterling’s £325,000-a-week deal, which expires in three years, has been described as an obstacle to him moving after his exclusion from the first-team squad.
The winger would be open to joining Manchester United – there have been suggestions that he could be included in a swap deal with Jadon Sancho – but nothing is advanced.
Chelsea have been paying close attention to Sancho’s situation for a while and have not ruled out muscling in on Juventus’s attempt to sign him on loan. That is despite Enzo Maresca having a wealth of options in wide areas – a situation that has led the Italian to cut Sterling from his plans. Chelsea have plenty of variety in attack after signing Pedro Neto and João Félix this summer.
Sterling, who has interest from Juventus, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, has been linked with a variety of clubs since being frozen out last week. But the 29-year-old needs further dialogue with Chelsea over his contract. Sterling is the highest earner in the squad and his wages mean his sale is not straightforward. There is the pressing question around whether Chelsea would owe him money if he took a pay cut at his next club. It is understood that a bigger priority for United is finalising the sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli.
Chelsea are likely to be busy this week, with Maresca keen to sign a striker and a defender. The top target in attack is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who is believed to favour a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea have been in talks with Napoli over selling the Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and their preference is to sign Osimhen on loan. That does not appeal to the Nigerian, who does not want to lower his eye-watering wage demands. Napoli have dropped their asking price for Osimhen but he has been cool on interest from Al-Ahli.
Alternative options in attack for Chelsea include Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán, and they have tracked Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewis. Everton could move for Armando Broja if the Chelsea forward’s loan move to Ipswich cannot be revived.
Maresca has six senior centre-backs but Trevoh Chalobah is out of favour and offers for Axel Disasi and Benoît Badiashile will not be automatically turned away. The head coach is looking to bring in a defender capable of fitting into his passing game. Solid interest in Chalobah is yet to materialise.
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Chelsea are looking to move a host of players. Bournemouth have held talks over signing the goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on loan. Ben Chilwell, the England left-back, has no future at the club and could be offered in any move for Sancho, who earns a reported £300,000 a week. Carney Chukwuemeka could leave and there are doubts over Ângelo Gabriel, Deivid Washington, David Datro Fofana and Cesare Casadei. Tino Anjorin is poised to join Empoli.