Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel believes summer signing Raheem Sterling will lift teammates Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic up in their attack.
Sterling signed for the Blues from Premier League rivals and reigning Champions Manchester City earlier in the transfer window in a move worth around £47.5 million.
The 27-year-old has brought a depth of experience to his new club having spent seven seasons at City, where he won multiple trophies.
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Saturday evening saw him make his competitive debut for Chelsea in the 1-0 win away at Everton, with the winger playing the full 90 minutes at Goodison Park.
Sterling was even close to scoring his first goal for the side in the first half, but his close range finish was correctly ruled out for offside.
Tuchel is pleased to have seen the England international sign for the club, and he believes he could be a huge boost for his fellow attackers as they eye more threat in front of goal.
“Well, we were joking at half-time and saying maybe it is a typical Chelsea game we win 1-0 and Jorgi scored with a penalty,” said the German in an interview from the Evening Standard.
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“It is what it is. I think Raheem (Sterling) will lift Kai (Havertz), Mason (Mount) and (Christian) Pulisic up.
“Our formation is a deep formation because the centre of the formation is in the three centre backs and the two No6s, so it is a deep formation in which you rely heavily on the two wing-backs.
“Today we played with Ben Chilwell who was not, for me, 100 per cent ready to start but the situation with Marcos Alonso and the late signing of Marc Cucurella made it necessary that we took the risk.
“Reece (James) struggles also at the moment to have full, full fitness so on the right we didn’t have enough from the wing backs to create a bit more freedom for the inner players.”
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Chelsea have been keen to change options going forward this summer, with Sterling being the only attacking signing so far.
Timo Werner is on his way out of the club with the German approaching a return to RB Leipzig, the club he played for before his move to Stamford Bridge.
He has been pictured in Germany ahead of the transfer, with the 26-year-old putting pen to paper on a four-year deal at the Bundesliga side.
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Werner has only played two seasons at Chelsea and despite winning three trophies during his time in west London, he recently cast doubts over his future by saying he could be happy away from the Blues.
“It is hard to say (if clear the air talks are needed),” said the forward.
“First of all, the most important thing is that I am happy. I am happy when I play and score goals. That’s the fact. That’s what I should take care of and the other things will come.
"I could be happy everywhere. It is hard to say (why I've struggled for game time). I didn’t ask but I think of course the manager always has different ideas, different thoughts and what you need in different games, I think in many games I was not in his thoughts so I try to change that.”
Topics: Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic
Robert Calcutt