Chelsea’s January transfer window is finally starting to kick into gear after a quiet opening two weeks where it looked as if little movement was expected.
The Blues are pushing ahead with efforts to sign Jeremy Jacquet to address the issues that have plagued them at centre-back this season.
Chelsea are also closing in on the addition of Yisa Alao from Sheffield Wednesday. He is expected to be one for the future in West London.
What have you made of Liam Rosenior’s tactics so far?
Jamie Carragher quote on Liam Rosenior's tactics
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No meaningful player exits are expected to take place this month, however the Blues will relish the opportunity to move on some individuals who are far away from the first team plans.
Raheem Sterling in Chelsea action.
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Napoli starting talks to sign Raheem Sterling ‘today’
One of those is Raheem Sterling, who is not in the first team squad eligible for Premier League football this season.
Axel Disasi’s return to first team training is perhaps a sign the relationship is completely broken between the club and Sterling, and Napoli are now ready to strike.
Fabrizio Romano has stated that the Serie A side will be in touch with Sterling’s agents today to see if a deal can be reached between all parties.
He said on his YouTube channel: “From today, Napoli will also get in touch with the agents of Raheem Sterling at Chelsea to understand whether to proceed with this deal or not. So contacts are expected between Napoli and Sterling’s entourage to figure out how Napoli want to move on this situation.
“Sterling is one of the names on the list, one of the players available on the market because he is completely out of Chelsea’s project, and therefore one of the names that has been proposed to Napoli several times. This isn’t the first time – he was also offered to Napoli last summer, when Napoli chose not to proceed. Now, clearly, the situation is different and Napoli are making their evaluations.
“Napoli had asked those handling the Sterling operation for a bit of patience, because yesterday and today Napoli didn’t want any kind of distraction. But now Napoli can move into the phase of final decisions regarding Raheem Sterling, who will soon understand whether he can move to Italy or not.
“I can confirm, to conclude on Sterling, that from what I’m told he would very much welcome an experience outside England. He has played almost exclusively in England throughout his career and would like the chance of something different – also considering the experiences of players who were no longer finding the space they deserved in England, like Scott McTominay and Rasmus Højlund. Sterling has that same desire. We’ll see whether Napoli decide to move forward or not.”
DISCUSS: Raheem Sterling shines in Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea side… 🧩
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What Liam Rosenior has said about Raheem Sterling
Many players who didn’t get enough opportunities under Enzo Maresca have now been handed a clean slate under the new manager.
Sterling didn’t play a competitive minute under Maresca, however at this stage it doesn’t look as if this will change under Liam Rosenior.
The manager stated that he was set to have further talks with the winger, with the hope that his future would be sorted soon.
The £50m signing of Sterling (BBC Sport) has clearly stung the decision makers at the club, and made them think twice about offering about big wages to new signings since.
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