According to the English newspaper Telegraph, Raheem Sterling, who has fallen out of favor at Chelsea, is keen to join Manchester United, the club he has admired since childhood.

Chelsea is reportedly interested in a swap deal involving Sterling and Jadon Sancho, but Manchester United has yet to agree to this proposal. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has made it clear that the 30-year-old forward is not part of the team’s plans for this season, despite having three years remaining on his contract.

Sterling is also in discussions with Chelsea about the possibility of leaving before the summer transfer window closes on Friday, August 30. His preference is to remain in England, with Manchester United being his top choice. During his time at Manchester City in 2019, Sterling revealed his long-time admiration for Manchester United and even owned a “Red Devils” jersey from their 2016 FA Cup victory.

Born in 1994, Sterling developed at Liverpool’s youth academy and began playing for the first team at the age of 18. He joined Manchester City in 2015 and moved to Chelsea seven years later. Liverpool and Manchester City are also historical rivals of Manchester United. Sterling has scored 123 goals in 379 Premier League appearances, placing him among the top 20 goal-scorers in the league’s history.

Currently, few clubs can afford Sterling’s high wages, which stand at $396,000 per week at Chelsea, totaling about $17 million annually. However, Sterling is willing to reduce his salary by approximately $4 to $5 million per year to join a new club. At Manchester United, the highest earners are Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, who make $462,000 per week, while Sancho earns $330,000.

Manchester United is also looking to offload Sancho, as he no longer fits into manager Erik ten Hag’s plans. The club is prioritizing selling the 24-year-old forward and has rejected a swap deal involving Chelsea’s left-back Ben Chilwell. Nevertheless, Manchester United has not ruled out the possibility of exchanging Sancho for Sterling. Besides Chelsea, Juventus is also interested in Sancho as a replacement for Federico Chiesa.

Manchester United is working to sell more players, such as Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri, to fund a move for defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from PSG. The club has agreed to sell McTominay to Napoli for $34 million, and Mejbri is undergoing a medical with Burnley. PSG is asking for $67 million for Ugarte, but Manchester United has managed to negotiate a lower price. As a result, the final days of the transfer window promise to be busy for both Manchester United and Chelsea.