Chelsea may be about to sell Christian Pulisic and big-name teammate after £100m+ reveal – pundit
Chelsea will still try and sign Raheem Sterling even if they complete a deal for Raphinha, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Aston Villa and England forward claimed Thomas Tuchel will want the duo to replace Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech who are not good enough for the Premier League.
The Athletic reported earlier this week (29 June) that Chelsea have indicated to Leeds United they are ready to meet their £55million-plus valuation of Raphinha.
The Guardian reported on Monday (27 June) that they are poised to launch a bid for Sterling who Man City value at between £50million and £60million.
With the Blues set to spend at least £100million on the pair, Agbonlahor has suggested Pulisic and Ziyech could be sacrificed.
He told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “I don’t think signing Raphinha would stop Thomas Tuchel going for Sterling, I think he’ll want both.
“I think he’ll want to get rid of Pulisic, he’ll want to get rid of Ziyech. I said last season, and I got hammered for it, that Ziyech and Pulisic are not good enough for the Premier League.
“They don’t get past players, their end product is not good enough, they don’t score enough goals.
“Thomas Tuchel has realised, now Lukaku has gone as well, they need more firepower up there because they will get left behind with what they’ve got.”
Pulisic, 23, has only two years left on his current contract while Ziyech, 29, has a deal until the summer of 2025.
Ziyech only made 14 Premier League starts in 2021-22 while Pulisic made 13.
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