Paul Merson warns Chelsea against signing Raheem Sterling as he plays ‘the Manchester City way’

Paul Merson has warned Chelsea that signing Raheem Sterling will not be the solution to their attacking woes. 

The Manchester City forward has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as the Blues look to strengthen their squad this summer, with Thomas Tuchel reportedly set to be given £200million to spend. 

But Merson believes Sterling would not be a success if he was to move to Chelsea as he doesn’t suit their style of play. 

Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge 

But Paul Merson believes Sterling would not be the solution to Chelsea’s attacking problems 

The former Arsenal striker told the Daily Star: ‘Chelsea need a big summer of signings and they might not get that. 

‘They need at least a couple of defenders because Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are leaving, and they might not be the only ones leaving either.

‘But they are stuck with Romelu Lukaku. They won’t be able to sell him without making a loss, and who could they get to replace him? Top-class centre forwards are scarce.

‘They might go for Raheem Sterling but he plays the Manchester City way. I don’t think Raheem Sterling scores 20 goals a season for Chelsea.

Sterling played an instrumental role in helping City win the title on the last day of the season 

‘He likes to arrive late in the box at the far post for a tap-in. There’s an art to that. But I don’t see that ball getting whipped across the box like that too often at Chelsea, so where does he get his goals from?’

Despite enduring a frustrating season, Sterling scored 13 Premier League goals and managed five assists, including one on the final day of the season when City came from behind to beat Aston Villa and clinch the Premier League title. 

The 27-year-old’s current contract with the club ends at the end of next season and Sterling is reportedly set to wait until after England’s Nations League fixtures in June before making a decision on his future.

Since joining from Liverpool in 2015, the England international has won the Premier League four times, the League Cup four times as well as the FA Cup.

Merson was critical of Thomas Tuchel, claiming the Chelsea boss doesn’t know his best team

Meanwhile, Merson was also critical of Tuchel and Chelsea’s attacking players, saying: ‘I still don’t think Thomas Tuchel knows his best line-up if I’m being honest. He has too many options but not enough of his forwards have done the business this season.

‘There’s no consistency at Chelsea. That doesn’t help either because you can’t build up an understanding with the players around you.

‘That’s Lukaku’s problem as well. Granted, I don’t think he works hard enough. But he hasn’t had the same players around him week in week out either.

‘They chop and change. The mentality has to change as well because when they are on it, they are no different to Manchester City and Liverpool.’