Chelsea offloaded Raheem Sterling to Arsenal on loan and was set to replace him in its bloated squad with fellow winger Jadon Sancho in a loan from Manchester United to complete its latest overhaul in a dramatic final few hours of the summer transfer window.
The deal for Sterling was announced after the market officially shut in Britain at 2200 GMT (11 p.m. local time), with the Premier League having given the clubs involved extra time to complete the transactions. Sancho’s move to Chelsea was expected to be announced imminently.
Chelsea failed, however, in its reported last-ditch attempt to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who had been linked all day with a move to either Stamford Bridge or to the Saudi Pro League but looked set to stay in Italy against his will.
Another remarkable transfer window for Chelsea, during which the club spent nearly $300 million on new players, ended with the 29-year-old Sterling reuniting with Mikel Arteta — the Arsenal manager who worked with Sterling when they were both at Manchester City a few seasons ago.
It marks another new start for Sterling, who left City in 2022 — after winning four Premier League titles — as the first major signing of the new Chelsea regime headed up by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital after they bought the Premier League club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for $3.2 billion.
Chelsea has since spent more than $1.3 billion on new players across five transfer windows.
Sancho would be a like-for-like replacement for Sterling. Both were in a similar situation — not wanted by their managers and looking for a fresh start elsewhere.
After falling out with Man United manager Erik ten Hag, Sancho went on loan to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season and even played in the Champions League final. He returned to United over the summer but clearly didn’t settle his differences with Ten Hag.
If his Chelsea move is confirmed, Sancho will seek to ignite his career there, though he will have a slew of attackers to compete with in the form of Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson.
Felix and Neto were also signed in this window for a combined $120 million, yet Chelsea’s owners still felt they needed another forward in the squad.
Earlier, Chelsea sent goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic on loan to sister club Strasbourg and also loaned out striker Armando Broja to Everton.
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