Chelsea have completed the signing of England international winger Raheem Sterling on a five-year deal from Manchester City.
The London club agreed a fee of around £50m with their Premier League rivals and Sterling has now departed the Etihad Stadium following seven trophy-laden years with City.
Having undergone a medical in London, the 27-year-old was flown out to Florida to join the
pre-season tour of the US on Tuesday before being unveiled as a Chelsea player.
Sterling had entered the final year of his contract at City and expressed a desire for a fresh challenge elsewhere.
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Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Sterling stated that he was delighted to home in London:
‘I’ve obviously achieved a lot in my career so far, but there is still so much more to achieve and
I’m really looking forward to doing that in a Chelsea shirt, under Thomas’s management.
“London is my home and where it all started for me, and it’s amazing I now have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family week in, week out at Stamford Bridge.
I’m really looking forward to meeting the fans there soon.
“I do want to take the opportunity to thank Todd, Behdad, the ownership group, Thomas, and all involved in the process of getting me here.
‘I can’t wait to get going now and continue to do my talking on the pitch.”
Sterling becomes the first signing of the Todd Boehly era at Stamford Bridge,
although the new ownership are also targeting defensive reinforcements in the form of Sterling’s former City teammate Nathan Ake and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
Chelsea are on the lookout for further attacking reinforcements too, following Romelu Lukaku’s return to Inter on loan – although they have lost out on Leeds winger Raphinha, who is set to join Barcelona.
Fellow target Ousmane Dembele is also close to renewing his contract at Camp Nou.
Sources have told 90min that the Blues could now turn their attentions to Ajax’s Antony and Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich, while Milan’s Rafael Leao also remains on their radar.
