Raheem Sterling has announced his departure from Manchester City ahead of a £47.5m move to Chelsea. The England star has agreed to personal terms in a five-year contract with the Blues with an option of extending it for a further 12 months. In a social media statement that confirmed his Manchester City exit, Sterling said; "Seven seasons. Eleven major trophies. A lifetime of memories. To the coaching staff who have played a massive role in my development over the years. To my teammates who have become more than just those, I share a pitch with. To the backroom staff. To the office staff. To the fans who have tirelessly supported the team. And to everyone involved with Manchester City, my respect for you couldn't be greater. What a ride it's been. I am thankful for the ups and downs, as it's the downs that have, at times, tested my strength and resolve, and enabled me to stand here in front of you as the best possible version of myself. I arrived in Manchester a 20-year-old, today I leave as a man. Thank you for your endless support. It's been an honour to wear the shirt of Manchester City." 

The forward was one of the priorities of Thomas Tuchel's list of attacking targets and was entering his final year in his City contract. The Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola had earlier said that he does not like keeping players that are unhappy at the club and was open to allowing Sterling to leave the club. Sterling now offers Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel a guaranteed threat as he has directly contributed to 165 goals in his 320 appearances for Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League. The 27-year-old believes he is in the decisive phase of his career and wants to make a significant contribution on and off the pitch. Mancity has clearly proven to have a solid recruitment by the fact that it has sold two of its best attackers to embers of the 'Big Six' as Gabriel Jesus moved to Arsenal and now Raheem Sterling has moved to Chelsea. This also clearly shows the gap that exists between the clubs.

As European teams struggle financially to compete with their English counterparts, Intra-league transfers at the top end of the table are set to become more common. Chelsea were in dire need to refresh their attacking options as they had lost their key striker Romelu Lukaku on loan to Inter Milan, the club that they had bought him from in the first place. Sterling ranks fifth for Premier League goal involvements since he made his debut for Liverpool as a 17-year-old in 2012, with his tally of 165 (109 goals and 56 assists) behind only Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Jamie Vardy and Mohamed Salah.