Chelsea set to sign Raheem Sterling - Is he the solution to their goalscoring problems?

Chelsea are set to complete their first major signing of the summer transfer window this week, when they confirm the capture of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling. The England international is set to make the move to Stamford Bridge for a fixed fee of £47.5 million (€56 million), making him Chelsea's ninth most expensive signing ever. 

Player Comparison

Raheem Sterling

Erling Haaland

Chelsea FC

Manchester City

€70.00m

Market Value

€150.00m

27

Age

21

Left Winger

Position

Centre-Forward

Jun 30, 2027

Contract until

Jun 30, 2027

Full Player Comparison

Naturally, Sterling has been heavily linked with a move away from Man City for a number of seasons now and this summer's arrival of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland to the Etiihad was undoubtedly the final push the 27-year-old talent needed to look elsewhere for game time. Now, Sterling will be tasked with proving his former club wrong by leading the line for Thomas Tuchel's side this season. 

However, while Sterling may be well regarded as a tremendous Premier League forward, the jury is still out over the player's ability to play as a traditional No.9. And whether he could provide the goals that Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and most recently Romelu Lukaku struggled to offer in previous seasons. So how good is the England international in front of goal? 

Apologies - the fee is £47.5m fixed, no add-ons. https://t.co/bTfHmHZ44l

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 9, 2022

Up front or on the wings - Sterling's best position for Man City

Although Sterling began his career at Liverpool as a traditional winger, he undoubtedly developed into a more malleable player under Guardiola’s guidance at Man City and has often been tasked with playing a number of positions. One such role has been as a traditional No.9, with the role of simply scoring goals in the box. However, while Sterling may not exactly refer to himself as a poacher or classic striker, his stats do suggest that he’s actually quite good at it. Since making the move to Man City, Sterling has played as a No.9 in 2036 minutes of football and in that time he’s scored 14 goals and bagged a further six assists. Which works out at a very impressive 0.62 goals per 90 minutes and 0.88 goals and assists per 90. 

While that may not be as impressive as his record as a right winger (1.01 goals and assists per 90), it’s still more than good enough for Chelsea if Sterling can maintain that kind of strike rate at the front of their attacking line. And if so, the England international may be the perfect attacking addition to the Stamford Bridge squad this summer.