Romano drops Sancho bomb as Chelsea face £70m Sterling problem

Chelsea have been told that Jadon Sancho is open to a move to Stamford Bridge in a deadline-beating transfer, but if they are to land the Manchester United winger, they will first have to solve an €83 million (£70m) problem with Raheem Sterling.

Fabrizio Romano says that Sancho is willing to talk with the Blues over a potential deal, though it appears for any serious negotiations to take place, Sterling would have to agree to leave.

A spectacular swap deal has been rumoured between the clubs in recent days, and while this still appears to be a long shot, the stance of the former Borussia Dortmund star opens up the possibility.

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Sterling, though, is the issue.

According to the Daily Mail, he is owed a massive €83m in terms of wages and bonuses for the outstanding three years of his contract.

It is unlikely that United will want to saddle themselves with such an expensive player as the report explains.

“With United keen to clear Sancho’s £250,000-a-week salary from their wage bill, they would be reluctant to help Chelsea reach a financial settlement with Sterling,” it states.

“Sources have indicated that any deal would have to be on United’s terms, and a player swap is still an unlikely solution.”

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Romano on Sancho transfer stance

Romano, meanwhile, has outlined Sancho’s position in all this.

“Chelsea consider Sancho an opportunity, and if Man United want to take one player in the deal, such as Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell or any other player who could leave Chelsea, then they would be more than happy to do the deal. Chelsea’s position is that they would be more than happy to sign Sancho, but it has to also mean United taking one of the players they don’t want in the squad,” Romano writes on the Daily Briefing.

“To summarise, Sancho is wanted by both Chelsea and Juventus – both clubs are working on the deal but with different perspectives. Chelsea will only consider the Sancho deal with a swap including one of their players who are not part of the project, like Raheem Sterling.

“Juventus, meanwhile, are in talks with United over loan move for Sancho with buy clause, but also the salary coverage is a key point. For now, my understanding is that Sancho is open to both moves, so it depends on the clubs.”