Chelsea’s change in stance on winger they wanted £20m for should bring a move at last | OneFootball

Yesterday afternoon saw Matt Law drop his latest Chelsea transfer column, and while it had lots of new news, it also had some lines which we could have predicted way back at the end of last season.

Chelsea break stance on Raheem Sterling loan – again

Raheem Sterling playing on the preseason tour.

The headline was that Chelsea are now prepared to consider loan proposals for Raheen Sterling. That has felt inevitable for some time now. There was no interest in buying him last summer, then he had a poor season on loan with Arsenal. Why would there now be more interest than a year ago?

Even offering him out essentially for free doesn’t work because of his vast £300,000 a week wages. Any team who might potentially be interested in bringing him in wouldn’t have fallen for our initial “stance” that he wouldn’t be loaned. They will have just been waiting for this moment and the collapse of our negotiating position before expressing any interest.

Premier League team ready to engage with Chelsea over Sterling move

A new name is mentioned in the mix for Sterling – Fulham. They’ve spent almost nothing this summer and would like a new attacking option, while Sterling is interested because he’d like to remain in London. A deal feels just about possible, if Chelsea are willing to let him go for almost nothing, if Fulham are willing to cover a chunk of his wages, and if Sterling is willing to perhaps even lower his demands.

The England winger has two years left on his contract at Chelsea, so his book value is falling fast. Sources at the club mentioned by Law claim that he has “remained positive and professional” and that “there is optimism that a solution that suits all parties” can be reached without any bad blood or tension.

After a whole summer without a whisper of interest in Sterling, this change in stance should finally bring us closer to a deal.