Aston Villa have reportedly opened talks over a potential deal for Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling to bolster Unai Emery’s attacking options.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed a glittering career thus far across spells with Liverpool, Manchester City and now Chelsea, winning countless trophies while scoring 20 goals in 82 caps for England.
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He was at the peak of his powers during his time at City where he scored 131 goals and provided 73 assists in 339 appearances, while he has managed 19 goals and 12 assists in 81 outings for Chelsea.
However, after Enzo Maresca publicly made it clear that Sterling is not part of his plans moving forward this past week, The Times have now reported that Villa have opened talks with Chelsea over a move for the forward, but it remains to be seen if a deal can be agreed upon as it’s likely to be complicated given the finances involved.
The report notes that Sterling is said to currently be earning £325,000-a-week, and so that is likely to be beyond the wage bill structure at Villa currently, and so time will tell if that will be a hurdle that can’t be overcome, or if talks ultimately lead to a compromise being reached.
The Mirror claim that the England international has been offered to Villa, but it’s said to be down to Unai Emery to determine whether or not he’s the right solution to improve and strengthen our squad in terms of his role in the group he currently has at his disposal.
That process is reportedly ongoing, while the same financial concerns are flagged in that report as it remains unclear if personal terms could be agreed upon.
Given the sale of Moussa Diaby earlier this summer, it could be argued that there is still a void in our attack that needs filling. Further, some may also argue in favour of Sterling being a proven option who can be deployed in a similar role behind Ollie Watkins and could fit our style of play, with the benefit of the experience that he brings to the table too.
However, at this stage in his career and with the financial aspect in mind too, there are doubts over whether or not he would be the ideal solution to strengthen us in the final third, and so while the reports suggest that we could be eyeing a move, it sounds as though there is still a long way to go before it becomes a genuine possibility.
