Chelsea preparing new bid for Sterling after Man City reject first offer

Chelsea on Sunday reportedly had a bid for Raheem Sterling turned down by Manchester City, but the Blues are still in the running for the signature of the 27-year-old and a new bid is expected soon.

According to football transfers guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea put in a initial bid worth €25 million plus add-ons for the England international, but City, who are open to selling Sterling, hold the winger to be much more valuable.

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While all reports suggest that the Citizens want to let go of wantaway Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus and Sterling to make space for new arrivals Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, the club also wants to make a pretty penny from the sale of the two forwards.

According to Romano, City want a figure in the ballpark of €60 million for Sterling, and are likely to accept bids in the range of €40 million for Jesus, with the club looking to make at least €100 million from their departures.

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City’s demands are perhaps unassailable too, given the fact that Sterling finished last season with 17 goals and 8 assists to his name. Jesus, meanwhile, scored 13 goals and created 11, an impressive return indeed.

That being said, Romano suggests that Chelsea, who are looking to offload Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan, “will be back” with a new bid for Sterling soon, with manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly being an admirer of the 27-year-old wide forward.

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Sterling’s acquisition, if it happens, could become Chelsea’s first major signing of the summer transfer window, a window that the Blues have to utilise to its full extent to re-build their backline, with both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on their way out.