New shock Raheem Sterling rumour as Chelsea look to offload winger and sign Manchester United player

Chelsea boss Maresca has made it clear Sterling will not get minutes at Stamford Bridge and is free to find a new club, despite having years left on his contract with the Blues. Rumours emerged of a swap deal with United for Jadon Sancho, who fell out of favour last season, but now a Premier League title challenger might have entered the fray.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have reportedly been offered Sterling as Chelsea seek to offload his huge wages before tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline. The manager is looking to add depth in his forward line and while Sterling would be unlikely to displace his first-choice wingers, he could provide backup as the Gunners look to finally take the Premier League title from Manchester City. However, they have also been linked to Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and a move for Sterling is far from confirmed.

Sterling himself is a Premier League winner with City and has also played for Liverpool - one reason United fans weren’t keen on a rumoured transfer to Old Trafford. A move up north was mooted as part of a swap deal with Jadon Sancho going the other way; the 24-year-old fell out with Erik ten Hag early last season and spent the rest of the campaign on loan in Europe.

Though it was reported in July that the two had buried the hatchet, Sancho has not featured in either of Ten Hag’s first two squads this season and is understood to be for sale. Juventus were in the running for his signature, but have reportedly given up on the idea partly due to the financial commitment involved. If that is true, Stamford Bridge would be the winger’s most likely destination.

United signed Sancho for £73m three years ago and reportedly pay him £300,000 a week; they will struggle to recoup all of that fee and are understood to have set the asking price around £40m.