Chelsea may have given themselves problem with two players after Raheem Sterling gesture

Chelsea's 2022-23 Premier League fixtures

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Chelsea have reportedly agreed a fee with Manchester City to sign Raheem Sterling this summer. But the Blues may have given themselves a problem as they are set to hand the ace enormous wages at a time when they are trying to tie Mason Mount and Reece James down to new contracts.

On Saturday evening, news of Chelsea’s agreement with their Premier League counterparts hit the headlines. And, according to The Athletic, the Stamford Bridge side will pay Sterling over £300,000 a week and make him one of the top three earners in the Premier League.

Despite the lofty wages, Sterling’s decision to move to west London is said to be based on football reasons as he wants to be the main man and play all the time. And he could help transform the Chelsea attack as they go in search of silverware following their takeover by Todd Boehly.

But Chelsea’s decision to pay Sterling such a whopping salary, clearly indicates that Boehly is willing to stump up massive sums of cash to have some of the best players in Europe at the club. And he may have now set a precedent for all future contract negotiations.

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Mount signed his last Chelsea contract in July 2019, with James putting pen-to-paper on his latest Blues deal six months later. But the players weren’t established first-team stars back then and were each handed far less than £100k per week.

The duo have since become standout Premier League players and are now key men for manager Thomas Tuchel. And they will surely be taking note of Sterling’s prospective pay packet as they weigh up their future options.

It may be the case that Boehly needs to put his hand deep into his pocket to keep Mount and James at the club. If the American is happy to splash the cash on Sterling, he can hardly argue that the funds aren’t there. And the two Chelsea academy graduates could now be licking their lips at the prospect of securing mega-money contracts.

Mount and James have also become established England internationals over the last couple of years and would not be short of suitors if they did want to embark on new chapters of their careers. Boehly could have made a rod for his own back when it comes to future deals. But even if he has to triple the wages of Mount and James, it could still be worth it if the pair continue to perform as well as they have been.

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