Aston Villa hold Sterling talks that could unlock deal for Guiu upgrade

Raheem Sterling continues to be subject to transfer rumours, with the Chelsea winger no linked with a move to Aston Villa.

The England international winger hit the headlines last weekend as his team released a statement after he was excluded from the squad to face Manchester City in the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca has done little to reassure Sterling that he has a future in Chelsea’s crowded squad, with the former Liverpool and Man City star left out of the team that beat Servette 2-0 on Thursday in the Europa Conference League at Stamford Bridge.

READ MORE: Napoli fail with Chelsea Lukaku transfer talks

That game, meanwhile, came with a timely reminder that Chelsea need firepower, with summer signing Marc Guiu missing an embarrassing open goal before being replaced by Cole Palmer.

Sterling, meanwhile, is seen as very much surplus to requirements with the Blues, particularly after they signed Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid ahead of Villa.

Now the Birmingham club are looking to the Chelsea winger as a potential solution to their issues out wide, with The Times indicating they have opened talks with the player, who has an Estimated Transfer Value of €52.1 million.

Aston Villa stand a good chance of getting a better price than this for Sterling, who has three years left on a deal worth €380,000 (£325,000) per week. Given the player is known to be surplus to requirements at Chelsea and may miss out on their Premier League squad, the Blues’ bargaining position is poor with a week left in the summer transfer window.

READ MORE: Chelsea’s Osimhen plan after completing Joao Felix deal: Blues ‘WILL SIGN’ striker

Chelsea to initiate swap deal?

With Aston Villa back interested in a Chelsea player, it raises the tantalising proposition of the Blues asking about striker Jhon Duran once again. Duran was a long-standing target for the Blues at the start of the window.

Guiu’s incredible miss against Servette has only acted as a nudge that the Blues, for all their big spending, are still a side that lacks composure in front of goal. Even frontline striker Nicolas Jackson has failed to convince.

With Victor Osimhen likely priced out of their reach for the moment, it would be little surprise, then, if they were to ask about Duran once more.

Aston Villa are likely to fend off any talks for the Colombia international, particularly after he scored the winner against West Ham in a 2-1 victory last weekend.