John Terry and Joe Cole have endorsed ’s £50m transfer move for forward Raheem Sterling.
Four-time Premier League winner Sterling , signing a five-year contract with Chelsea.
Sterling, who scored 131 goals in 339 games for Man City, becomes Todd Boehly’s first major signing since the American bought the club from Roman Abramovich.
As well as thriving for Manchester City, Sterling has been a mainstay in England’s team over the past decade and both Terry and Cole expect him to thrive at Chelsea.
‘Welcome to Chelsea, Raheem,’ former Blues captain Terry wrote on Instagram. ‘What a signing this is… good luck mate.’
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Cole added to BBC Sport: ‘Chelsea are getting one of England’s best players in the prime of his career at a good price.
‘It’s a great bit of business. It helps us in the final third of the pitch – he’s a goalscorer and he can help the young players.
‘We are very young in that area – Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic. Raheem is five or six years older than them, has more games under his belt and has been round the block.
‘He can help with the leadership group as well. He’s part of the leadership group for England. We’ve lost Antonio Rudiger, so he will be very important on and off the pitch.’
Having won four Premier League titles and five EFL Cups at Manchester City, Sterling will look to lift more silverware at Chelsea.
The Blues finished third in the Premier League last season and suffered penalty shootout defeats to Liverpool in the finals of the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Discussing Sterling’s arrival, Chelsea owner Boehly said: ‘Raheem is a serial winner and his signing is an important step in strengthening our squad.
‘We are delighted for Raheem to return to London with Chelsea, and we look forward to seeing his world-class talent on display at Stamford Bridge.’
Chelsea are currently in America for their pre-season tour. Thomas Tuchel’s side begin their 2022-23 Premier League season on August 6 against Frank Lampard’s Everton.
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