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Manchester United have “opened talks” over a potential deal to sign Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling with a “swap for Jadon Sancho” being actively discussed by the two clubs, according to The Telegraph.
Mike McGrath (The Telegraph) reveals Dan Ashworth, the sporting director at Old Trafford, is in “dialogue with Chelsea over a sensational package that would see two the England forwards move in opposite directions.”
The report indicates United are open to signing Sterling but will “only progress in a swap for Jadon Sancho on their own terms.”
Sterling has found himself frozen out at Stamford Bridge under new manager Enzo Maresca. The former Leicester manager, who joined Chelsea this summer to replace Mauricio Pochettino, has publicly stated the 29-year-old is not his “kind of winger”.
Sterling has been “stripped of his squad number” with new signing Pedro Neto taking over the number seven shirt and will be forced to train with the Chelsea U-21 squad if “if no deal is suitable before Friday’s deadline,” McGrath states.
Chelsea are pushing for a permanent deal, as opposed to a loan, for the 29-year-old; a preference which mirrors United’s own handling of their unwanted English winger, Sancho.
The London club have been “long-term admirers” of Sancho, who has failed to ever justify the £73 million fee United shelved out to bring him back to Manchester from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
Old Trafford officials have set a £40 million price tag to sell Sancho this summer but, as yet, have failed to find a suitor willing to pay this. Instead, interested clubs, such as Dortmund at the beginning of the window, and Juventus at the end, are focusing on a loan deal.
United would be open to a loan but only if it included an obligation to buy clause. Juventus officials are currently negotiating with their English counterparts but there had been a sense at Old Trafford that Chelsea would enter the race for Sancho at some stage; with good reason.
Chris Wheeler (Daily Mail) describes Chelsea as “serious rivals” to Juventus for the 24-year-old, though the reporter does contend a swap deal for Sterling is “unlikely, but not out of the question.”
United’s executive branch entering into direct negotiations with Chelsea over a deal for Sterling suggests the interest is genuine, but it could also be a negotiating tactic to force Juventus’ hand in their pursuit of Sancho. A report relayed by The Peoples Person revealed Sancho remains “likely to exit” United this summer with the Old Lady continuing to circle.
At 29, with a wage packet at Stamford Bridge in excess of £300,000 a week, Sterling is outside the profile INEOS have sought to establish as the new model for recruitment at United. However, the winger is a reliable goal scorer (only Mohammed Salah and Jamie Vardy have scored more Premier League goals outside of Sterling amongst active players in England) with the versatility to play various roles in the front line.
Chelsea are likely to have to pay off a large part of Sterling’s contract for a move to materialise. If United could strike a favourable deal for the 29-year-old, while removing their own problematic, overpaid winger from their wage bill, INEOS may just be willing to compromise on their transfer profile.
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