Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital had just taken over the club and wanted to back Thomas Tuchel.

It led to them spending £50m on Raheem Sterling, but the winger has not really lived up to his price tag and reputation.

There were other attackers Chelsea targeted in the summer Sterling joined the club, and one of them has just shown the Blues what they have missed out on.

Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Thomas Tuchel really wanted Raheem Sterling

Tuchel was keen to bring Sterling to Stamford Bridge, something the German was very open about.

“He was the absolute number one for that position,” the former Chelsea boss told The Telegraph in 2022. “I gave his name to Todd straight away.”

If he was never sacked, perhaps things would have turned out differently, but right now you would have to say that Sterling’s move from Manchester City has not really worked out.

The England international scored just six goals in the Premier League last season, has managed the same amount this term and has now been linked with a switch to MLS.

Raphinha would have been a better signing than Raheem Sterling

Chelsea also tried to sign Raphinha during the 2022 summer transfer window, even agreeing a fee with Leeds United, according to one report from The Telegraph.

The Blues could not get a deal done in the end, though, before the Brazilian went on to join Barcelona in a £55m switch.

Raphinha started in their 3-2 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last night, scoring two goals.

It was the kind of big-game performance Chelsea fans have not really seen from Sterling yet.

At Leeds, Raphinha was often the spark in the team. For example, in his first season at Elland Road, he scored six goals, provided nine assists and completed 2.1 key passes per game, which was the highest average in his squad (WhoScored). It did not take the Brazil international long to adapt to the Premier League.

In Chelsea’s defence, they obviously took note of that and it looks like they did try to sign him and Sterling — it was never one or the other.

However, with how things have gone for Sterling and after Raphinha’s display at the Parc des Princes last night, it is starting to look like the latter should have been the club’s priority. Of course, that is hindsight, while Raphinha’s heart was clearly set on Barcelona. There was probably not much else Chelsea could do.