Yesterday, Chelsea confirmed the signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, despite interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.
It was said that Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte both wanted to sign the England international, although he eventually decided to snub the north Londoners in favour of a £50m move to Stamford Bridge.
Now, Gary Lineker has shared his thoughts on the signing.
What’s the story?
Well, the BBC Match of the Day host thinks Thomas Tuchel has just made “one hell of a signing” with the addition of Sterling.
We can’t help but agree.
The England international scored 131 goals in 337 appearances for Manchester City, while also providing 94 assists, as he helped the Citizens win four Premier League titles, as well as the FA Cup and five League Cup triumphs.
At the age of just 27, Chelsea are also receiving a player in the prime of his career.
You can see what Lineker wrote on Twitter in full below.
In all honesty, we’re surprised Pep Guardiola let him move to another Premier League side, especially after Gabriel Jesus joined Arsenal.
The Spaniard may have just given the Blues a huge weapon in the title race, and it will be interesting to see if Sterling can maintain his goalscoring heroics in Tuchel’s system.
Chelsea have outdone both Arsenal & Tottenham
In our view, Chelsea’s signing of Sterling outdoes Arsenal and Tottenham’s deals for Jesus and Richarlison respectively.
Sterling is already a Premier League icon, having starred for Liverpool and Manchester City, scoring 109 goals in England’s top-flight over the years.
Admittedly, he may be two years older than Jesus and Richarlison, who are both 25 years of age.
However, Sterling was actually £10m cheaper than the £60m Richarlison, whereas he was £5m more than the £45m Jesus, although the Brazilian is not as prolific as the Englishman.
Ultimately, if you gave most people a choice out of Jesus, Richarlison or Sterling, they would surely choose the latter.
In that respect, Chelsea have outdone their London rivals in this instance.
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