Chelsea outcast winger Raheem Sterling is open to joining Manchester United – with suggestions a swap deal with Jadon Sancho could be included – although nothing is advanced as yet.
Sterling is keen on resolving his contractual situation at Chelsea before focusing on 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 is open to joining Manchester United – with suggestions that he could be included in a swap deal with Jadon Sancho – but this is still in the early stages of exploration.
Chelsea have been closely monitoring Sancho’s situation for a while and have not ruled out muscling in on Juventus’s attempt to sign him on loan, despite Enzo Maresca having a wealth of options in wide areas, which has led the Italian to cut Sterling from his plans. As it is, Chelsea have lots of options in attack after signing Pedro Neto and João Félix this summer.
Sterling, who has attracted 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 has yet to engage in further dialogue with Chelsea over his contract. The winger is the highest earner in the squad and his wages mean his sale is not without complications, with the pressing question arising whether Chelsea would owe him money if he took a pay cut at his next club. As for Man United, the bigger priority for United would be to finalise the sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli.
Maresca is keen to sign a striker and a defender this week, with the top target in attack being Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who favors 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. However the Nigerian does not find this appealing as he does not want to lower his eye-watering wage demands.
Alternative options in attack for Chelsea include Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán, while tracking Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.