Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho find themselves members of a rather unfortunate club: British wingers on high wages out of favour with their clubs and looking for a move.
It has been widely reported that Chelsea and Manchester United are exploring a swap deal involving the two players. With Chelsea already stacked with attackers and both Sterling and Sancho underperforming since moving to their respective clubs, the question must be asked as to who this move benefits?
Looking at the deal from the clubs’ perspectives, it would be an easy solution to both Chelsea and United’s problems, allowing unsettled players to move on.
But with Raheem Sterling earning a reported £300,000 per week and Sancho on £250,000 a week, neither club would see a massive decrease in their wage bill, which would seemingly be a key goal of Chelsea’s in offloading Sterling. It has been reported that Chelsea would be set to continue to pay some of Sterling’s wages, further clouding the move’s objective.
The last thing Chelesa need is to add another winger. Should he join, Sancho would be competing directly with the recent £50m arrival Pedro Neto, as well as Mykhailo Mudryk and the in form Noni Madueke. The depth chart behind them also includes Cristopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and perhaps even Cole Palmer among others.
In a squad teeming with attacking talent, Chelsea have little reason to bring in Sancho other than to encourage Sterling’s departure. They are no stranger to that strategy, having signed Joao Felix largely to facilitate Conor Gallagher’s exit from the club.
United have slightly more of a footballing motivation to add Sterling to their disjointed attack, which has struggled for chemistry in the opening matches. He will find himself competing with Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo, marking at best a marginal upgrade. Sterling’s 2023/24 goal contributions of 12 is a slight improvement on Rashford and Garnacho’s tallies of 10 and 11, respectively.
Adding Sterling, who has won all 12 of his career trophies with cross-town rivals Manchester City and broke out at Liverpool, will probably not go down well with the Manchester United faithful. He will have a task on his hands to endear himself to the fans, and would be under immense pressure to perform, something he has struggled to do at Chelsea.
Sancho may have an easier task in winning over Chelsea supporters given he grew up following the team, but whether west London is an ideal destination for him is another story. Competing for minutes in a stacked squad where he may not get all that much game time, the environment would not be conducive to getting his career back on track after two underwhelming seasons.
Who, then, does this transfer benefit?
It is true that United are crying out for a better attack, but questions can rightfully be raised as to whether Sterling is the right man for the job as his performances in recent years have dropped off. Chelsea simply do not need another attacker in Sancho, regardless of their long-standing interest in the player’s services, and he may struggle to thrive in such an environment.
For Sterling, having the opportunity to be the face of a new club’s attack might appeal and he would likely get more chance than Sancho would to impress.
With both Chelsea and United’s transfer strategies the subject of great scrutiny in recent seasons, a swap between Sterling and Sancho could be set to become the latest instalment in a litany of questionable deals.
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