Will Raheem Sterling turn Chelsea into title challengers?

Raheem Sterling completed a sensational £50m move from Manchester City to Chelsea this week. Can the England international turn the Blues into title challengers again?

Chelsea are a club that has been competing at the very highest level for the past decade and they even won the Champions League in 2021 following a superb 1-0 win over Manchester City in Istanbul.

It was something of a surprise then to see them struggle so much last season. The Blues endured a poor campaign by their very high standards and eventually finished third in the Premier League table – a whopping 19 points behind champions City. In fact, Chelsea were closer to 8th than they were 1st.

It’s no wonder then that new owner Todd Boehly has embarked upon an ambitious transfer window as boss Thomas Tuchel tried to build a squad that’s capable of competing for major trophies again.

Many eyebrows were raised when reports emerged suggesting Chelsea were keen to sign Raheem Sterling. Not many thought Man City would sell such a quality player to a direct rival. It’s not often two top English teams do business for one of the best players in the league.

However, City were prepared to sell if their valuation was met and Chelsea soon sealed a deal that could rise to £50m including add-ons. Sterling became a Chelsea player this week in one of the most audacious transfer coup’s for many years.

Still outsiders

However, while Chelsea fans rejoice at the signing of Sterling, his arrival hasn’t influence the betting markets as Chelsea are still ranked as outsiders to win the title this season. In fact, the Blues have dropped to 16/1 fourth favourites with sites such as http://www.xn--mgbabr8icc.net/ who clearly don’t see Tuchel’s men being serious contenders.

Just two weeks ago, Chelsea were at 14/1, ahead of Tottenham who were at 16’s. But the odds have now turned around in Tottenham’s favour with Antonio Conte’s men priced at 14’s to win their first ever Premier League title.

Manchester City remain the bookmakers favourites at 4/7 with Liverpool close behind at 2/1. But many fans may be shocked at how high Chelsea’s odds are considering the arrival of Sterling.

The West Londoners are also close to signing Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. The Senegalese centre-back has been one of the best defenders in Italian football over the past few years so he should be a terrific replacement for Andreas Christensen.

Chelsea are also expected to sign another top class central defender following the departure of Antonio Rudiger while they’ve also been linked with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo so they certainly mean business this summer.

If the Blues can bring in a few more top quality players, those 16/1 odds to win the title will look very tempting.