Raheem Sterling has officially completed his £47.5 million transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea, and Thomas Tuchel stated he was “very thrilled” to have acquired the attacker.
Raheem Sterling is all set to join Chelsea
The 27-year-old joined Thomas Tuchel’s team on their preseason tour of the United States after agreeing to a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge with a further 12-month option.
The Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who has agreed to a four-year deal and will have a medical on Thursday in preparation for a probable £32 million move, might soon join Sterling as the first male signing of the Todd Boehly era at Chelsea.
After legally taking over from Russian Roman Abramovich at the end of May, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who are now in charge of Chelsea, sign Sterling as the club’s first player.
The 27-year-old played 47 games for City last season in all competitions, scoring 17 goals and dishing out nine assists.
Sterling began his senior career at Liverpool before transferring to City in July 2015. He quickly made himself a fixture in the front line of the Manchester club, scoring 131 goals in 339 games for Pep Guardiola’s team.
He later won the league championship, the League Cup, and one FA Cup four times each.
Though Guardiola frequently preferred Phil Foden or Jack Grealish on the left side of attack, he dropped down the pecking order previous season, contributing nothing to City’s journey to the league title and the Champions League semifinal.
In a post on social media early on Wednesday, Sterling bid City adieu.
Following their problems in front of goal last season and Romelu Lukaku’s transfer to Inter Milan, Chelsea’s attack will gain much-needed firepower with the addition of Sterling, who has earned 77 England caps.
Last year, Thomas Tuchel’s team finished third, 19 points down of winner City. On Aug. 6, they travel to Everton to begin the new campaign.