30 eye-catching transfers

RAHEEM STERLING

(Manchester City to Chelsea)

1 Aside from being an intriguing replacement for Romelu Lukaku in Chelsea’s recalibrated attack, Sterling’s move from Manchester City is eye-catching as it demonstrates a wider emerging trend.

By selling Sterling to the Blues – as well as Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal – City have moved on from the previously unwritten rule that you must never sell to direct rivals unless absolutely unnecessary. It was a phenomenon seen in Italy’s top flight during the1990s and early 2000s, when big names would often