CHELSEA have made their opening move to land Raheem Sterling after new owner Todd Boehly made contact with Manchester City.
And the West London club are ready to back it up by slapping in a formal bid of around £50million in the next couple of days.
Man City’s Raheem Sterling is rated top of the list for Chelsea strike targets
City were willing to offer Sterling, 27, a new contract to replace his current deal which has less than 12 months to run.
But the England man is believed to be concerned about the game time he will get at the Etihad next season.
And rather than wait to leave as a free agent in summer 2023, he is keen to get more regular first team football now, particularly with the World Cup looming.
Although Gabriel Jesus is poised to leave, City boss Pep Guardiola has added two forwards to his squad in Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
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Plus Sterling did not start key matches against Real Madrid or the Prem title decider against Aston Villa.
Relations between Sterling and his boss at the Etihad became strained in spring 2021 in the weeks after a derby defeat to Manchester United.
The pair made up in the autumn and he went on to play a key role in a fourth Prem title in five years for City.
Yet he has not had the assurances we was looking for to convince him to commit his long-term future to his current club.
City will be looking for more than the £45m they have accepted from Arsenal for Jesus – a move which is on the brink of being finalised.
However Guardiola has always said he will not keep players who want to leave against their will.
And the Etihad hierarchy are unlikely to keep him against his will if their valuation of the forward is met – particularly as they face losing him for nothing next season.
Sterling, who joined from Liverpool in a £49m deal in 2015 and has scored 131 goals in 339 games – winning four Prem titles and five domestic cups.
If Chelsea do land their man, they could soon follow it up by bidding for Everton forward Richarlison.
Tottenham are monitoring the former Watford ace but Blues stars are hoping the Brazilian will opt for a switch to Stamford Bridge instead.
