Chelsea are set to complete a £50million move for Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling – and his numbers stack up well against the forward options currently at Thomas Tuchel’s disposal.
Sterling has enjoyed an illustrious seven years at City since his controversial move from Liverpool and has won every major honour in the domestic game.
But the 27-year-old has entered into the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and, after signing Erling Haaland and Julien Alvarez, City were willing to sell Sterling at the right price.
It was expected that Sterling would move abroad, with Barcelona among others reportedly interested in his services, but Chelsea have won the race for his signature.
The Blues had an opening bid of £35million rejected by City but the two sides have now agreed on a deal that could be worth up to £50million.
Sterling is set to sign a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge and will reportedly recieve just over £300,000 a week, making him Chelsea’s highest earner.
Tuchel is thought to be a big admirer of Sterling, with the Blues boss believing the forward is better suited to Chelsea’s style of play than £97million signing Romelu Lukaku, who has recently returned to Inter Milan on loan.
And we’ve compared Sterling’s 2021-22 Premier League stats with Manchester City to the numbers of Chelsea’s forward options in the league.
Goals
Raheem Sterling – 13
Kai Havertz – 8
Romelu Lukaku – 8
Christian Pulisic – 6
Timo Werner – 4
Hakim Ziyech – 4
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 1
Assists
Raheem Sterling – 5
Hakim Ziyech – 3
Kai Havertz – 3
Christian Pulisic – 2
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 2
Timo Werner – 1
Romelu Lukaku – 0
Minutes per goal
Raheem Sterling – 163.6
Romelu Lukaku – 198.3
Kai Havertz – 227.0
Christian Pulisic – 214.3
Timo Werner – 321.5
Hakim Ziyech – 329.3
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 966.0
Minutes per goal or assist
Raheem Sterling – 118.1
Christian Pulisic – 160.8
Kai Havertz – 165.1
Hakim Ziyech – 188.1
Romelu Lukaku – 198.3
Timo Werner – 257.2
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 322.0
Chances created per 90 minutes
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 2.3
Hakim Ziyech – 2.1
Raheem Sterling – 1.8
Romelu Lukaku – 1.4
Christian Pulisic – 1
Kai Havertz – 1
Timo Werner – 0.6
Successful dribbles per 90 minutes (success rate)
Raheem Sterling – 2.2 (46.7%)
Hakim Ziyech – 1.9 (43.2%)
Christian Pulisic – 1.7 (42.5%)
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 1.5 (62.5%)
Kai Havertz – 0.9 (42.9%)
Romelu Lukaku – 0.7 (50.0%)
Timo Werner – 0.7 (30.4%)
Passes per 90 minutes (passing accuracy)
Hakim Ziyech – 43.2 (81.2%)
Raheem Sterling – 34.7 (85.3%)
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 33.0 (85.3%)
Kai Havertz – 32.4 (81.3%)
Christian Pulisic – 30.6 (80.3%)
Timo Werner – 26 (78%)
Romelu Lukaku – 18 (72.9%)
Shots per 90 minutes (inside the penalty area)
Hakim Ziyech – 3.6 (1.1)
Timo Werner – 3.1 (2.8)
Kai Havertz – 2.8 (2.4)
Raheem Sterling – 2.4 (1.4)
Romelu Lukaku – 2.4 (2.2)
Christian Pulisic – 2 (1.5)
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 1.7 (1.6)