Napoli target Sterling on loan, talks with Chelsea underway | OneFootball

Napoli returns to the spotlight in the transfer market with a new surprise target for the attack: Raheem Sterling. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the English winger has become a concrete alternative to Dan Ndoye, who is at the center of a transfer battle with Nottingham Forest and is attracted by the idea of moving to the Premier League.

Napoli, Sterling breakthrough: he’s Conte’s Mister X. Talks started with Chelsea, loan option being considered

Sterling, end-of-cycle opportunity: Chelsea open to a transfer Sterling, 30 years old (thirty-one in December), is now considered surplus at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea needs to trim the squad and raise funds after a summer of heavy investments (over 190 million euros). The player is training separately from the group, waiting for a move that could relaunch his career after a difficult season.

The asking price for the transfer is not prohibitive: it’s around 20 million pounds (just over 23 million euros), a figure the English club could even lower. The real obstacle is his salary: Sterling earns over 15 million euros net per season, a figure unsustainable for Napoli’s standards.

The loan option takes shape: active contacts between the parties For this reason, the most concrete solution at the moment remains a loan. The Napoli management, with Giovanni Manna at the forefront, has already started talks with Chelsea to explore the feasibility of the deal. The only viable path would be a significant contribution from the English club towards his salary to allow Sterling to join Serie A.

The player still has two years left on his contract with Chelsea, but he is not part of the club’s technical plans and sees Napoli’s offer as an opportunity to relaunch himself in an ambitious environment after a season to forget.

A top player’s résumé, despite last season Last season marked a clear drop for Sterling: 17 appearances and no goals during his loan at Arsenal. But his résumé speaks for itself: a key figure during Manchester City’s golden years with De Bruyne, author of numerous double-digit scoring seasons, and with solid international experience also at Chelsea (especially in the 2022 and 2023 seasons).

At 30, Sterling could accept a new challenge away from the Premier League, where he has played since the start of his career. If the deal goes through, he would be a high-profile addition to Antonio Conte’s new project.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.