Raheem Sterling’s contract at Manchester City is in its final 18 months and the Citizens could risk losing him for free if a deal is not struck soon.
Many clubs have been circling around the Etihad, monitoring the forward’s situation. Chief among those is {statorium_player pid=undefined tid=undefined sid=undefined text=”Barcelona”}, who had earlier taken Sergio Aguero off their hands.
New reports from The Telegraph have now emerged that Manchester City is preparing to step up the contract talks between the club and the player’s entourage due to this interest from Barcelona which has reportedly caught Sterling’s fancy.
Sterling has fallen out of favour at the Etihad following the big-money arrival of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa at the beginning of the season and has struggled for game time this season.
He is currently enjoying some game time due to the injuries sustained by both Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, who was already threatening his place in the squad from last season, in addition to Kevin De Bruyne’s absence through coronavirus.
He scored only his fourth goal of the campaign against Paris Saint-Germain on matchday 5 of the 2021/211 UEFA Champions League.
Sterling marked the Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City
Raheem Sterling joined Manchester City from Liverpool in 2015 in a move that surprised and angered the fans of the Merseyside club.
The young Englishman had just begun to get noticed in world football after a blistering season with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. However, he forced a move to the Etihad, helping Liverpool pocket a fee of around £50 million and making him the most expensive English player of all time.
Sterling hit the ground running at Manchester City and soon became a key member of the squad. Pep Guardiola arrived the following season and decided to build his team around Sterling, Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne.
That choice paid off for the Spaniard, as Manchester City morphed into England’s most dominant team in that period, and a proper threat in Europe.
Sterling’s evolution under Guardiola also saw him become a key member of the Three Lions of England squad. He has since performed great feats for the English national team, including playing a key role in the Three Lions’ run up to the Euro 2020 final, their first final in over three decades.
When the time comes to look back, no player will epitomise Pep Guardiola’s time at Manchester City more than Raheem Sterling (alongside a few others).
Two other players may leave City in January with Sterling
Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake are names that have popped up on the transfer speculation machinery as players who may be moved on from City this season alongside Raheem Sterling.
Jack Grealish arrived and Bernardo Silva was the man who was expected to make way for the £100 million man. However, the little Portuguese has been the best player for Manchester City this season and has made himself a must-pick for every game in every competition.
Nathan Ake has been a little more than a squad player since he joined City. He was never expected to start over John Stones, Aymeric Laporte or even Ruben Dias. He has, however, only succeeded in playing a handful of games in his one-and-a-half season for CIty.
While Nathan Ake’s exit may be expected, Bernardo Silva’s exit will definitely shock Manchester City fans and Raheem Sterling’s exit will be very emotional as it will mean the loss of a second key figure in the Guardiola era.
