Raheem Sterling has been linked with a move away from Manchester City and it is no secret. The Englishman also recently revealed that he would be open to moving abroad if it meant him getting more minutes on the pitch.
Sterling has fallen down the pecking order at City with the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish being preferred over the former Liverpool man. Having said that, the 26-year-old is still yet to accept a contract extension at City and it is growing seemingly unlikely that he will, under the current circumstances.
The English winger has been linked with a move to FC Barcelona this coming winter. In fact, the recently concluded summer window also saw Sterling being linked with a move to Barcelona but the former La Liga champions’ delicate financial situation back then meant that a deal wasn’t feasible.
Sterling’s game-time has drastically reduced since the final third of the last season and the 26-year-old’s poor returns this season worth only a solitary goal and 2 assists from 12 outings haven’t really helped his cause either. Moreover, with the way Foden and Grealish are playing currently, it would be unbelievable to think that Pep Guardiola would drop them to accommodate Sterling who hasn’t really played the best of football in recent months, apart from the Euro 2020.
Speaking about Sterling, Pep told Sky Sports:
"“I’m going to tell you something about Raheem, the last I would say three weeks, one month it’s one of the best moments on the pitch in the last year or a half,”“So at the moment he’s training, behaving on the pitch, play 20-25 minutes he has four or five chances, one day he will score again. Now he’s back in terms of I think he’s doing really well. Long time I didn’t see it.”Source: Mirror"
It is clear that Pep Guardiola is looking to hand Sterling the minutes that he potentially deserves but it is also a given that the Englishman will have to come up with an extraordinary performance coming off the bench if he wants to displace Foden or Grealish. As it stands, that is looking highly unlikely.
Do you think Sterling will force his way back into the City XI or is it time for the defending Premier League champions to part ways with the 26-year-old?
Let us know.