Raheem Sterling’s future is increasingly a major question mark after a season which has gradually seen him fall from favour.
He’s still ended up with plenty of appearances, and a handful of goals and assists. But that has largely been down to a lack of alternatives for the manager to choose from.
If Christopher Nkunku had been fit all season we likely would have seen far fewer appearances for the England man, who is now coming to a crossroads in his Chelsea career.
As Simon Phillips explains in his exclusive column on his Substack today, Sterlling could be at the centre of increasing speculation. He says Chelsea will be “actively looking to sell” this summer, despite his intentions being to stay at the club.
Sterling however “is starting to accept that he might need to leave Chelsea if he wants to play regular football,” which could eventually force his hand. But he’s “not given up” on playing for England is “London is his ideal spot.”
Sterling can’t stay and play unless things change
Sterling is in quite the bind then, it seems. The evidence of recent months is that Pochettino is really moving away from him. It was great to see him pop up with am important goal at the weekend, but in the games before that it was very clear that Mykhailo Mudryk, for all his flaws, was Pochettino’s favoured option on the left.
It’s a problem for Chelsea, who are paying Sterling €300,000 a week according to most reports, and it’s a problem for Sterling
As Phillips says, his ideal situation is to stay in London and play regularly, but those two things might not be possible. Interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey might have to be taken seriously by the winger if he’s not willing to be just a bench option for us going forward.