Premier League Chelsea has spent a fortune on quality attacking players in recent years. The likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku have all arrived at the south west London club. They have enjoyed varying success with the former European champions. However, it is due to that varied success that the Blues are set to their attacking options this summer.
Talks to sign pair
Media reports suggest that Chelsea are in talks to sign not one forward addition but two. The Blues have held talks with Leeds over a move for Brazilian international winger Raphinha. A fee of around in excess of £ 50 million has been mooted.
London rivals Arsenal have also shown an interest in the winger. However, the Gunners have yet to reach Leeds’s valuation of one of their star players. Mikel Arteta’s club could return with an improved bid, but Chelsea are still the favourites to sign Raphinha.
Reports from elsewhere suggest that Chelsea have also contacted the agent of Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling. The Blues are expected to make an official bid in the next couple of days, with City believed to value Sterling at around the £60million mark. The player is reportedly keen on returning to the English capital, where he grew up before moving to Liverpool in his teens.
Lukaku returning to Inter on loan
The need to forward additions has been heightened by the imminent return of Lukaku to former club Inter on loan. The Belgium international has travelled to Italy to complete the formalities of a temporary switch that will cost the Nerazzurri a loan fee of around £ 10 million.
Lukaku only joined Chelsea last summer for an eye-watering fee of around £97million. The 29-year-old failed to impress in his second spell at Stamford Bridge. He bagged a modest 15 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions last season.
That was an underwhelming return for a forward of his talent and previous potency. The big striker never really fitted into the Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel’s style of play. Therefore, it was of little surprise that Lukaku should leave the club, even if it is only temporarily.
New arrivals mean a different style
When it comes to stature and style of play, Sterling and Raphinha seem to fit into Tuchel’s system better than Lukaku. Both players are versatile, and that versatility means that the Blues attack can be more fluid in nature. Both could even play as a false number if the Chelsea boss decides he wants to play without a traditional striker. Lukaku did not offer that option, as he is a conventional target man, even if he played out wide in his earlier career.
The prospective double signing is undoubtedly exciting for everybody connected with the club. It will be fascinating to see how both players are utilised if the pair do indeed make summer moves to Stamford Bridge.
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Would Raheem Sterling and Raphinha be good additions to the Chelsea squad?
