According to the reports, Chelsea will challenge Arsenal in the race to sign Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, with many of the Premier League’s biggest clubs of the belief that the England international is up for sale.
The Gunners are believed to have requested that the speedy attacker be included in a player-plus-cash swap deal for Alexis Sanchez, though Pep Guardiola’s side refused and the deadline day deal collapsed.
But, as per the Telegraph, both Chelsea and Arsenal are convinced that Manchester City are preparing the way for Sterling to leave and will make a move for him.
It is likely to be a two-horse race between the London rivals, with Man City unwilling to sell to rivals Man United, Tottenham Hotspur unable to afford his wages and Sterling unwilling to return to Liverpool.
With Bernardo Silva’s arrival likely to impede Sterling’s game time, and the Citizens set to try again for Sanchez in January, Sterling could soon find himself struggling to make the bench.
However, the 22-year-old star is currently an important first-team player, and was voted the club’s player of the month after netting decisive late goals against Bournemouth and Everton.
Almost Done: Chelsea could finalise transfer of 28-year-old star this week
According to the latest transfer news, Chelsea could reach an agreement with La Liga giants Atletico Madrid over the potential move for wantaway striker Diego Costa this week.
The controversial Spain international has so far refused to return to the Stamford Bridge having spent the entire summer in his homeland of Brazil.
In a series of media interviews, the former Atletico Madrid star slammed Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte for dropping him from his plans and accused the club of treating him like a criminal.
As per the Spanish publication Marca, the Premier League reigning champions have so far been refusing to sanction Diego Costa’s desired return to Atletico Madrid as they want him to come back to the UK to train with the reserves.
However, the same sources also claim that the Blues have now softened their stance and are prepared to discuss a deal with the Diego Simeone’s side, who are banned from registering new players until January.
It is understood that the fee for the 28-year-old scandalous striker could be around €60m (£54m), which would break Atletico’s transfer record.
Didier Drogba happy with Chelsea’s one of big-money summer signings
The legendary Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has praised the impressive start made by the club’s new boy Alvaro Morata following his big-money summer move from Real Madrid.
The Spanish forward has joined the Stamford Bridge side in a club-record £65m deal following a frustrating, but overwhelmingly successful, second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 24-year-old Morata scored the breakthrough goal for Chelsea last Saturday as they battled to a 2-1 victory over Leicester City, taking his tally to three goals and two assists in his first four Premier League matches, which Drogba hopes is the start of a special relationship.
During his interview with the Sky Sports News, the legendary Ivorian said: “He is scoring goals that are winning games so I am really happy for him and for the club as well. It is very important to score. As a striker, when you start with a new team, people have high expectations.
“When you match those expectations, you are just happy and the goals continue to come. I hope he will have a great season because we need that.”
Chelsea also still have fellow Spain international Diego Costa on their books, though the striker is out of favour under manager Antonio Conte and has not featured this season.
