Chelsea completed dramatic one-in-one-out transfer that saw Raheem Sterling depart

Chelsea opted to send Raheem Sterling out on loan and brought someone else in to replace him (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Raheem Sterling traded one London club for another in a last-minute switch in 2024, paving the way for Manchester United's Jadon Sancho to make his escape to Chelsea .

The previous year's deadline day was rife with Premier League surprises, with the Blues' dramatic transfer activity making plenty of headlines. Two deals involving Chelsea , Arsenal and United saw Sancho and Sterling relocate to different parts of London on loan for the new season.

As the transfer window closed, the Blues issued a brief statement confirming Sterling's departure that read: "Good luck, Raheem."

The then-29-year-old winger, who is now back at Stamford Bridge and has since turned 30, completed a last-minute loan move to the Emirates Stadium. This occurred after it became apparent that he was not in manager Enzo Maresca's plans at the club, with Pedro Neto and Joao Felix both joining the club over the summer.

Chelsea welcomed another new face to their squad: former Dortmund winger Sancho, who essentially replaced Sterling. The England international had also been left out of then-manager Erik ten Hag's plans at United and was free to leave either on loan or permanently.

Stamford Bridge was the young forward's preferred destination, with Chelsea agreeing to an obligatory purchase price of £23million if certain targets were achieved.

Jadon Sancho came the other way, swapping Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge (Image: Richard Heathcote, Getty Images)

This was a stark contrast to the hefty £73.5m that the club shelled out in the summer of 2021 to entice Sancho to Manchester.

However, his performances at Old Trafford were underwhelming. He scored only 12 goals and provided six assists in 83 appearances, causing his value to plummet significantly.

In the meantime, Sterling found himself back with an old acquaintance at Arsenal; manager Mikel Arteta, who had spent considerable time working under Pep Guardiola during Sterling's seven-year stint with Manchester City.

Sterling's deal did not include an option or obligation to buy, meaning he would return to Chelsea at the conclusion of the 2024/25 season, regardless of his impact at the Emirates Stadium.

During his spell at Arsenal, the forward scored just once and provided five assists in 28 appearances across all competitions, including the Champions League.

Raheem Sterling was used sparingly at Arsenal (Image: Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Sterling was used sparingly but arguably had his best match when he assisted Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice in a 2-2 draw against PSV in their last 16 clash in Europe's premier competition, sending them through 9-3 on aggregate.

He also made some contributions in the League Cup and Premier League, but he ultimately ended the season without any trophies and rarely played before returning to Stamford Bridge.

Sancho had a standout year with Chelsea, netting five goals and providing 10 assists across 41 appearances in domestic and European competitions. The young winger's most notable performances came in the Premier League and the knockout stages of the Conference League.

After reaching the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund during his loan spell in the 2023/24 season - which they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid - Sancho found himself in another European final, this time with Chelsea.

Jadon Sancho had plenty of success with the Blues but was ultimately snubbed (Image: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Blues faced Real Betis - and fellow United loanee Antony - in the final, where they triumphed over the Spanish side in a resounding 4-1 victory, with Sancho scoring the third goal in the 83rd minute.

Despite his contributions to their trophy-winning campaign, Chelsea chose to pay a fee to United to avoid triggering Sancho's buyout clause , seemingly unconvinced by the winger's performances.

Sancho now finds himself part of Ruben Amorim's 'bomb squad', with the club still attempting to facilitate a move for the winger who doesn't feature in the Portuguese manager's future plans.

Sancho has already rejected offers from Roma and Besiktas but is reportedly on the radar of several clubs, while Sterling also finds himself surplus to requirements at Chelsea. With both players in precarious positions at their respective clubs, there's every possibility they could be involved in another dramatic deadline day move but will no doubt hope to make a greater impact if they do end up joining new clubs.