If there is one thing that Raheem Sterling just doesn’t understand in football, it is the concept of rivalries. The 29-year-old has the unique distinction of having represented Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in England so far.
Manchester United are now heavily linked with a transfer for Sterling on Deadline Day in a swap deal that would see Jadon Sancho move the other way. Sterling is out of the project under Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge who has made it very clear that the winger will not play for the club again.
Arsenal could land Sterling on deadline day
Now, as per Sky Bet, Arsenal are favourites to land Sterling on Deadline Day. Mikel Arteta is no stranger to signing ex-Manchester City players with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the squad. It’s not just players that the tactician has brought from his former club.
Set piece coach Nicolas Jover is one other person that Arteta brought over from Man City when he took over as the coach at the Emirates. The Spanish tactician knows Sterling very well from his time at the Etihad and has been a part of some of the best years that the player has experienced.
An expensive debacle
If Arsenal were to sign Sterling on Deadline Day, he could turn out to be quite an expensive debacle. He earns around £325,000 per week at Stamford Bridge which is frankly outrageous and has had a couple of very poor seasons.
The Gunners’ highest-paid player is Kai Havertz who earns around £280,000 per week and it makes no sense for the club to completely rip apart their wage structure to bring in a player who clearly looks past his best.
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As much as Arteta might know Sterling, the 29-year-old has struggled over the past few seasons. His last season at Manchester City was underwhelming to say the last. Pep realised this and let him move on.
Chelsea took the bait by making him a marquee signing and giving him incredibly high wages and it just hasn’t worked out. As good as Arteta is at working with players, Sterling is not the kind of signing the club needs at the moment.
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The ex-Liverpool and Man City star comes in with a certain level of reputation which could spoil the harmony in the dressing room. The average age of the Arsenal squad is quite young and Sterling just doesn’t feel like a good fit.
One would hope that the Gunners do not make a move for the Chelsea outcast later today. The club is better off going into the new season without a signing rather than acquiring Sterling. Let’s see how the next few hours pan out with respect to this transfer saga.
