We’re in the off-season for club competition, most of the international play currently being staged are meaningless friendlies, so you know what that means?
It is indeed the summer silly season, i.e. time to talk some transfer rumors, and other assorted news items. So let’s jump right in with the latest buzz surrounding Chelsea, who announced their first signing of the summer, in Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling. The English international is part of Chelsea’s makeover in the final third, and that’s the topic we’ll focus on here.
For the transfer talk piece focusing on the defenders go here.
Two superstar forwards, strongly linked with the club this summer are Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski, but there are major hurdles standing in the way of Stamford Bridge getting either of them over the line. Lewandowski wants out of Bayern Munich, and he only wants to go Barcelona.
According to Sports Illustrated, citing Julien Laurens of the Global Star:
“Bayern Munich also turned down the chance to sign Ronaldo, while Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is not keen either, despite a meeting between (Ronaldo’s agent Jorge) Mendes and Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.”
Chelsea were also linked with Lewandowski last summer, when it become clear that they weren’t going to be able to sign Erling Haaland.
And if you want to know why Tuchel isn’t fully all that interested in Ronaldo, well then you need to see this Tweet from CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, who claims the German is prioritizing Lewandowski over United’s 37-year-old leading scorer this past season.
Finally, we turn to the saga of Leeds United star Raphinha, who had previously come very close to signing with Chelsea. FC Barcelona confirmed in a club statement yesterday that they have reached an agreement to sign the Brazilian attacker.
The transfer fee is thought to be north of €60 million including add-ons.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.
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