Manchester City are believed to be open to selling Raheem Sterling this summer if the English superstar makes it clear that he is ready to leave the club in uncertainty about his future. But in the same way, they are still ready to offer him a new contract instead.
Although he won a third Premier League title with City last season, Sterling had a disappointing club campaign compared to the world-class standards he had previously set with achievements since 2017. He and a number of others are rumored to have been unhappy.
Sterling, who has shone towards Euro 2020, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Joao Cancelo, Rodri and Aymeric Laporte are City players who are believed to be considering their respective futures.
City’s attitude towards Silva, who had moved to Barcelona last summer just to see it fall through, is that he is free to leave if a suitable offer is made and will not stand in his way if he does. That’s already the way they’ve handled players like Leroy Sane before.
Sterling and others have become unhappy in Man City despite winning Premier League title again / Michael Regan / Getty Images
It does not seem to be any different for Sterling, with The Athletic reporting that city officials have already discussed that it may be time to make money on the 26-year-old if a big bid comes in. They would simply be willing to ‘sell him if they had to’, even if the preference is still not.
Manager Pep Guardiola still wants him to stay and believes that even if Sterling is not completely satisfied, he would continue to make professional achievements and not become a disruptive influence.
Sterling’s current contract expires in 2023 and City are digging in if a freer step forward can only serve to lower the transfer fee they can get if all it achieves is to push him closer to the end of his contract and be sold for less than he is worth now.
Although Sterling would be open for a transfer, The Athletic states that the club will present him with a new contract offer the next time he signs up for service after Euro 2020 and a summer holiday.
City are open to selling Sterling but still prefer to offer him a new contract after Euro 2020 and a summer break / Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
90 minutes already revealed in November that it was City’s plan to secure both Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne for new contracts. The latter signed his new deal in May.
City have received tips on selling out a number of young players to collect transfer funds this summer. Jack Harrison is already one such example, making his three-year loan at Leeds permanent for an estimated £ 11 million, while a further £ 70 million could come from earning others.
But selling Sterling could further help fund expensive deals with players like Harry Kane and / or Jack Grealish. Given his attitude towards his future, it may not get too complicated as long as there is a willing buyer. But Real Madrid is the club that has been most strongly linked in recent years and does not have the opportunity to spend big money, even if contact has been maintained with agent Aidy Ward.
It had previously been suggested that Sterling could be offered Spurs in some form of exchange agreement for Kane. But it’s not something he’s not interested in as if he’s leaving the city, he wants it to be on his own terms and not as a weight for someone else.
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