Raheem Sterling completes his switch from Manchester City to Chelsea

Raheem Sterling has now completed his initial £47.5 million transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea.

The 27-year-old has left the Premier League Champions after seven years at the Etihad Stadium, where he has tasted success in every campaign bar one.

His performances for the Citizens has allowed him to consistently feature for the England national team over the last few seasons, and the winger was one of the Three Lions’ most crucial players in their run to the Euro 2020 final last year.

Sterling leaves City with 131 goals and 95 assists to his name in all competitions having played a total of 339 games for the club, and he will now return to the city he grew up in as he prepares to play in royal blue for Chelsea, signing a five-year deal at his new club.

At the age of 10, Sterling joined the Queens Park Rangers academy before Liverpool signed him in 2010. Just two years later he made his first ever senior appearance for the Reds, coming off the bench in their 2-1 loss against Wigan Athletic at Anfield.

The following campaign would see him heavily involved in the first team picture at the club as he went on to make 36 appearances across all competitions at just 18-years-old, scoring two goals and assisting another six. However, his true talent came to light in the 2013/14 season.

Sterling scored nine goals and assisted seven in the Premier League for Liverpool, and was part of the side that were so close to securing their first league title since 1990. He spent one more season at Anfield before making the decision to move to City in 2016, a choice that would prove to be incredibly wise for the forward.

At the time, his move to the Etihad Stadium made him the most expensive English player of all time, with his transfer costing around £49 million. His debut season in sky blue saw him amass 21 goal contributions in 47 games, and he added another nine in the following campaign.

His proceeding numbers, however, would see him elevate his game even further.

From the start of the 2017/18 season to the end of the 2019/20 campaign, Sterling scored 87 goals and provided 44 assists in 149 games for City. During that time he won a domestic treble, as well as a host of individual awards.

The last two years have seen these numbers reduce, but he has still been able to reach double digits for goals, which is more than some of Chelsea’s current options in the front three.

Sterling leaves City with four Premier Leagues, four League Cups, one FA Cup and one Community Shield to his name in a seven-year stint. He has also reached 77 caps with the England national team, meaning he could very well reach the coveted 100 during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Such a move means Sterling will now play for the third senior club of his career, and he will likely remain at the top of English football now that he plays for Chelsea.

The Blues had nothing short of a turbulent campaign last term having endured losing two cup finals through the heartbreak of penalty shootouts, their then owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned, and the process of being put up for sale. Despite all this, they still collected the Super Cup and Club World Cup along the way.

Sterling arrives as a statement signing for the west London outfit, and the first senior men’s addition under the new ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

He will surely provide a much needed boost going forward for Thomas Tuchel’s side, with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount being the only two players to particularly shine. The likes of Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech all struggled, with Werner being the only one out of that trio to reach double figures for goals.

It is likely Chelsea will lineup with Sterling on the left and Mount on the right, with Havertz through the middle after the loan departure of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.

Upon his arrival at the club, he revealed:

“First and foremost, it’s a pleasure to be here.

“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 arrives as the first signing of the summer for Chelsea, and a much needed addition for the frontline ahead of the new campaign.

Their aim is to close the gap on City and Liverpool, and their new winger certainly has the minerals to contribute to such an objective.

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