Raheem Sterling on his way to Chelsea as he agrees personal terms with the Blues

Raheem Sterling and Chelsea have reached a personal agreement, and the Telegraph reports that Chelsea is “hoping to finalize a fee with Manchester City in the next 24 hours.”

Both of these developments shouldn’t come as a surprise given how frequently Chelsea have been connected to the England winger over the previous few weeks.

The report didn’t mention the length of Sterling’s deal, but he is reportedly on track to become Chelsea’s highest-paid player after receiving a “little increase” from the £300,000 he was receiving at City.

He will then be on level with Romelu Lukaku despite Inter Milan paying his salaries at least for the upcoming season.

The anticipated transfer fee is still expected to be in the range of £45 to £50 million, possibly even a little less than what Arsenal paid for Gabriel Jesus.

Chelsea will be in direct contact with Manchester City today in order to complete Raheem Sterling deal. Fee almost agreed around £45m guaranteed plus add-ons, same as Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal. 🔵 #CFC

Personal terms fully agreed, Tuchel already had direct talks with Sterling. pic.twitter.com/p9ebluz9t3

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 7, 2022

Sterling will likely join the team for the upcoming preseason tour of the United States if the agreement can be finalized this week.

Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea manager and the primary mover in this trade, wants it completed so Sterling can travel with the team on their two-week vacation to the United States.

The West Londoners fly to Los Angeles this weekend, where they will spend a week living on campus at UCLA before playing against Club America of Mexico in Las Vegas.

After that, they will take a flight to Charlotte to take on Charlotte FC of the MLS, and they will finish their journey by playing Arsenal in Orlando.

Erling Haaland’s acquisition by City makes Sterling unnecessary under Pep Guardiola.

He is now expected to succeed £97.5 million flop Romelu Lukaku who has returned on loan to Inter Milan.

As the first significant acquisition of the Todd Boehly era following his £4.25 billion takeover, Sterling, Tuchel is eager to integrate him into the team as soon as possible.

For American Boehly, who is attempting to persuade Tuchel to sign wanted-away Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge, this is the beginning of a frantic transfer window.

Despite Barcelona’s intense interest, Leeds United winger Raphinha is still an option for them to increase their firepower.

Chelsea will complete the signing of Raheem Sterling today. A verbal agreement has been in place since last week for a £45 million deal with add ons finalised this week. Deal could rise close to £55 million. Clubs always confident of a sale since never too far apart in valuation.

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 7, 2022

After the exits of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, the central defense has to be strengthened.

Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus has been coveted, but the Dutch defender is rumored to want a transfer to Bayern Munich.

As Chelsea consider bringing him to the club, Nathan Ake, a teammate at Sterling City, has also been mentioned.