England winger Raheem Sterling will ask for regular first-team football if he is to quit Manchester City for Chelsea this summer.
The Man City forward is a transfer target of Thomas Tuchel’s side, but will reportedly only leave for London if he will be a guaranteed starter.
Sterling was part of the City team that won the Premier League title last season. But he played only 47 times in all competitions, scoring 17 goals; starting many of those games from the bench.
According to The Sun, The Blues are ready to sign Sterling for around £60million. But the player wants guarantees from Tuchel that he will not be left warming the bench at Stamford Bridge.
The 74-cap England international wants to play regularly to improve his chances of being selected in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup in Qatar and will only join a club that will guarantee he is a regular starter.
Sterling joined City from Liverpool for around £49m in 2015 and is currently contracted to the Etihad side till 2023, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side could sell him this summer to avoid losing him for nothing.
At 27 years, Sterling feels he is at the peak of his career and wants to have a key role in a team challenging for trophies. He admitted last October he could leave due to a lack of playing time and has reportedly paused talks about his future with Pep Guardiola’s side to see if the situation changed.
With forwards Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez arriving this summer, plus more game time for Jack Grealish in his second season, Sterling could further be restricted to more bench duties this season after starting just 23 of his slide’s 38 PL games last season.
