England forward linked with exit
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling seems certain to leave the club this summer, with first team football proving to be difficult to come by and Pep Guardiola’s side set to bring in even more firepower ahead of the new season. And it seems as though a Premier League rival may be prepared to offer the England international a convenient escape route.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been given permission to heavily invest in his first team squad this summer and that could mean a move for Sterling in the coming months. The 27-year-old forward is currently valued at £76.5 million but will enter the final year of his contract at the end of June.
As such, Sterling and Man City may be forced to either nail out a new deal for the player or accept that their time together has come to an end, prior to the player leaving for free in 2023. And with Arsenal in desperate need of a new goal scorer next season in light of Alexandre Lacazette’s expiring contract, Sterling may prove to be the ideal solution to their immediate problems.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Raheem Sterling this summer
But would the Man City forward be a smart signing for the Gunners? pic.twitter.com/bM2h9sRli2
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) May 10, 2022
Goals and assists aplenty – How good has Sterling been at Man City?
After making a £57.4m move to Man City in the summer of 2015, Sterling struggled at first to show his worth, with just six goals and two assists over the duration of the 2015/16 season. But after that the young forward found his stride and went from strength to strength for the English club.
Player Comparison
Manchester City
Arsenal FC
£76.50m
Market Value
£18.00m
Left Winger
Position
Centre-Forward
Jun 30, 2023
Contract until
Jun 30, 2022
Full Player Comparison
In the following campaign Sterling notched up a return of seven goals and 10 assists, which was then bested the following year with 18 goals and 15 assists. Which returned a remarkable average of 1.15 goals and assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League. Then, in the season after that, he bagged no less than 17 goals and a further 11 assists in the English top flight, while averaging another mighty return of 0.91 goals and assists per 90.
However, since then Sterling has found it harder and harder to truly nail down a consistent, starting role in Guarfiola’s side and has seen his total minutes per season drop in consecutive years, with this season’s current total of 2003 likely to be the third season in a row in which he has spent more time on the bench. The forward’s return on the pitch has undoubtedly been impacted by that, with Sterling averaging 0.81 goals and assists per 90 in 2019/20, 0.64 in 2020/21 and 0.72 in this current campaign. All perfectly good averages for any Premier League player, but nowhere near his career high from the 2017/18 season.
Whether Sterling’s drop in numbers is due to him passing his peak years as a pacy forward – which isn’t entirely uncommon even if he is still only 27 – or is simply down to him no longer getting the game time and chances that he was once afforded in Guardiola’s team remains to be seen. But that’s surely something that Arsenal will have to consider before making a bid for the player this summer.
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