Raheem Sterling is out of contract in 2023 and has yet to put pen to paper on an extension, so Manchester City may be forced to sell him this summer rather than lose him on a free transfer next year.
But many question why the 27-year-old would want to leave after winning the Premier League and getting to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League this season.
Chelsea are interested in Sterling and are a genuine destination for the England international despite finishing 19 points adrift in the Premier League table. Sterling’s decision to leave City is down to playing time, so Dean Jones says he’s is ‘quite open’ to joining a division rival if given assurances over his role.
He told Give Me Sport: “The positive for any pursuit of Raheem Sterling is that he’s basically on the market, so that’s a positive for Chelsea. It’s encouraging them that a deal can be done.
“From what I understand, Raheem’s been quite open to it. I think more open than a lot of people thought he might have been considering, I think, ideally, he was going to look to move abroad.”
Sterling made 47 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 17 goals with nine assists, but he started only 23 Premier League games from a possible 38 and started five Champions League outings from a possible 12, so his frustration is fair.
The 27-year-old was unhappy last summer as he missed out on big games the previous season, so little has changed a year later.
In other news, Romeo Lavia could leave Man City as Pep Guardiola closes in on Kalvin Phillips