Chelsea and City at odds over Sturridge
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea will almost certainly take their pursuit of Manchester City's young striker Daniel Sturridge to a tribunal, with the clubs as much as £7m apart in their valuations of him.
City officially released the 19-year-old on Tuesday with his wage demands rendering further contractual talks futile, but they still want a payment of £10m for him, payable as a development fee because he is under 23. Chelsea and City are millions of pounds apart in their valuation – both on the down payment and on the add-ons that will be built into the fee.
City's position is that they have nurtured a young footballing talent who they rank in the Theo Walcott bracket for potential. Chelsea argue that the teenager, brought to City from Coventry six years ago, has not played enough games to warrant the selling club's valuation.
There are grounds for negotiation, with Chelsea potentially offering £5m up front, with less conditional on the player's performances, but the clubs are too far apart for a likely resolution outside of a valuation tribunal. City do not believe the dispute will hold up Sturridge signing for Chelsea.
Mark Hughes has suggested his job of rebuilding City will not be complete this summer. "We might not be able to get all the players we need this window. There might be other windows we need," he said. "Last year we couldn't fulfil expectations. This year we will."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments