Report: Chelsea enter talks with Manchester City over Sterling move

Chelsea contacted Manchester City about the possibility of signing Raheem Sterling, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone.

The 27-year-old is apparently interested in moving to Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea are expected to lodge a formal bid soon. City could demand as much as £60 million for the attacker, whose contract expires next summer.

Chelsea, who are yet to add to their senior squad this summer, have reportedly made London-raised Sterling a top transfer target. The news follows €115-million flop Romelu Lukaku’s expected loan move to Inter Milan and AC Milan’s reported talks with winger Hakim Ziyech.

Sterling scored 13 goals and assisted five times over 30 Premier League appearances last season. Despite being the second-highest scorer during Pep Guardiola’s six-year City reign, the England regular was left out of some of the club’s bigger matches toward the end of the campaign. He didn’t start either leg of City’s Champions League semifinal with Real Madrid or the decisive last game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa.

Last year’s acquisition of Jack Grealish restricted Sterling’s first-team opportunities. His minutes were threatened even further when Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez arrived at the Etihad Stadium this summer.

Sterling moved to City from Liverpool for £49 million in 2015.