Thursday 21 May 2015

Raheem Sterling: how many clubs actually want to sign him?

 Raheem Sterling & Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool

Liverpool have Sterling under contract until 2017 and showed they will not be coerced into a sale during the stand-off with Luis Suárez in 2013, although there is a marked contrast in the players’ importance to the team and future transfer value. Brendan Rodgers is adamant Sterling is staying put. An inflated fee for potential, however, would surely tempt a rethink. Andy Hunter
Likelihood: 6/10

Manchester City

They would love to sign Raheem Sterling and can afford to pay him more than £100,000 if this will seal the deal. There would be no surprise if the club offered, say, a basic of £120,000 that could rise to £150,000 with incentives. On the football front: a fast, game-intelligent bright young thing who carries a goal threat is a total no-brainer for a City squad that requires freshening up. Will Liverpool sell to a rival though? Jamie Jackson
Likelihood: 7/10

Manchester United

Louis van Gaal has Memphis Depay incoming this close season in the category of young, rapid winger. Yet the manager loves callow potential he can mould and harness so would seriously consider buying a footballer who can play across the frontline and who alongside Depay and Wayne Rooney would form a three-man attack in the manager’s favoured 4-3-3 that would terrify most opposition. United, soon to be flush from the £750m, 10-year Adidas kit deal that starts on 1 August, could afford to pay Sterling, and would countenance doing so, a basic of around £140,000 a week. But a sale to Liverpool’s fiercest rivals would be an eye-opener, to say the least? JJ
Likelihood: 3/10

Chelsea

The club could afford Sterling’s wage demands, and the mooted £40-50m fee would be in their scope. The fact the winger is homegrown is a bonus and as a provider of genuine width, they would be attracted to the possibility of bringing him back to west London on plenty of levels. He is an option they would consider and their main scout has been at Anfield several times this season. But would he constitute a priority when they have Willian, the underused Juan Cuadrado and youngsters such as Isaiah Brown waiting in the wings? Dominic Fifield
Likelihood: 6/10

Arsenal

At the end of March, when Arsenal were made aware of Sterling’s situation at Liverpool, Arsène Wenger, Dick Law and Steve Rowley privately made it plain that they would not be interested in him in the summer. The club want to tie Theo Walcott to a new contract. And they are hardly short of wingers and No10s. But things can change very quickly in football. Sterling would represent an upgrade on Walcott. David Hytner
Likelihood: 5/10

Bayern Munich

It’s safe to say that Sterling is on Bayern’s radar – they’re looking for precisely that sort of player, and pacy wingers of his calibre are in short supply – but whether they’d be willing to pay a 20-year-old the kind of wages that would elevate him above stalwarts like Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer is a very different matter. Raphael Honigstein
Likelihood: 4/10

Paris Saint-Germain

A young, very talented forward who is (kind of) on the market: Sterling ticks all the boxes for PSG. The Parisian club are on the lookout for this type of player this summer. They were very close to signing Memphis Depay and Sterling follows the same logic. They have been monitoring his contractual situation for a while now. Money would not be a problem even with Sterling wage’s demands (just think that £100,000 a week is only slightly more than what Yohan Cabaye earns at the Parc des Princes). He is not Paris’s No1 priority (that is Angel Di María) but he is definitely on their radar. Julien Laurens
Likelihood: 7/10

Barcelona

FC Barcelona cannot sign because of a Fifa ban. What they can do is bring back on loan players such as Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suárez, creative talents who would add to a forward line that, last time anyone looked, was quite tasty anyway. Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez have 115 goals between them this season. So, do Barcelona need Sterling? What do you reckon? Sid Lowe
Likelihood: 1/10

Real Madrid

Summer time is signings time at the Santiago Bernabéu and all the more so after a season without a major trophy. David De Gea should come but few at Real Madrid have shown any sign yet of seeing Sterling as a superstar. Make enough noise now, though, and they might. Or, realistically, they might not.
Likelihood: 3/10

Internazionale

Despite posting losses of more than €100m on their 2014 accounts, Inter remain determined to strengthen this summer. Attack, though, is not the priority. If the club are to offer big wages for any one player it is likely to be Yaya Touré, of whom Roberto Mancini remains a big admirer. Paolo Bandini
Likelihood: 1/10

Milan

It remains possible that Silvio Berlusconi will sell Milan in the coming weeks – in which case a new owner might seek a statement signing. As things stand, though, the former prime minister remains at the helm, and says he wants his team rebuilt around a core of Italian players. PB
Likelihood: 1/10

Juventus

After a Champions League run that has earned them more than €100m, Juventus have the means to spend but already grabbed one young forward in Paulo Dybala and have no immediate need for another. Furthermore, not even the club’s highest earners – Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba – are paid as much as Sterling is reportedly seeking. PB
Likelihood: 2/10