Chelsea and Manchester City are still far apart on their valuation of Raheem Sterling despite the winger’s potential move to Stamford Bridge this summer, according to Sky Sports.
The Blues are reportedly confident that they can sign Sterling, whose contract at Manchester City expires in summer 2023, as long as transfer fees can be agreed with Manchester City.
Reaching such an agreement, however, could prove challenging, given the difference in valuation of the 27-year-old between the two clubs.
Despite Sterling’s having just one year in his contract, Manchester City reportedly still values the winger up to £60million.
Chelsea, on the other hand, reportedly believe that a fairer price for the England international would be around £35m, similar to what Bayern Munich could end up paying for Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.
An earlier report from Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio also mentioned that Chelsea are set to make a £35m offer for Sterling, whom they prefer over Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, who has a rather poor injury record.
Mane is also close to entering the final year of his contract at Anfield, but he is also almost three years older than Sterling.
While Manchester City do not seem to be facing any financial issues, they would also be under pressure to cash in on the player this summer or face the possibility of losing him for free next year.
Sterling also grew up in London, having started his career at Chelsea’s west London rivals Queens Park Rangers before moving to Liverpool when he was 15, so he could see a move to Chelsea as an attractive option.
The versatile winger finished last season with the second most goal contributions in the league among Manchester City players (18 – 13 goals and five assists), behind only Kevin de Bruyne (23).
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