Chelsea need more than 'great' Raheem Sterling transfer, says Blues goalscoring icon

With a combined 78 goals, Raheem Sterling would have finished as Chelsea's top scorer in each of the past five Premier League seasons.

The lowest tally he recorded during that time was 10, also enough to finish level with or above the Blues' highest scorers for the past two seasons. Neither Jorginho last season nor Romelu Lukaku this term made it out of single figures.

It's been the area that Thomas Tuchel has been most desperate to see better results with this season. After joining in February 2021 he was happy enough to rely on a solid defence for the remainder of the season and clean sheets provided the bedrock of the incredible Champions League victory, but things didn't improve how they should have.

During the 19 league games he managed of the 2020/21 season, Chelsea scored just 25 goals, at 1.31 per game. After an outlay of £97m on Lukaku, that total did increase to 76 goals in in 38 league games last term at an average of 2 per game. This still pales in insignificance to Liverpool (94 goals) and Manchester City (99 goals.)

Turning potential home wins into draws and even losses was Chelsea's downfall. Not getting the most out of the eventually problematic Lukaku was a big part of that, so Chelsea are back for pre-season now, Tuchel's second in charge, and still face an issue that has plagued the club since Diego Costa's departure in 2017.

Sterling is the newest man who appears destined to try and break the attacking curse at Chelsea. His deal to SW6 is edging ever closer as he has agreed personal terms with the club. He could become the first signing for the men's team under the Clearlake-Boehly ownership and would prove to be a statement signing for Tuchel.

He has lots to make up for, though, as other than Tammy