As the clock continues to tick down towards deadline day, the Raheem Sterling next club odds market has come to the fore above many others, as two major teams look set to battle it out for his signature.
Sterling's Chelsea future has been in doubt for some time now, but the final nail was seemingly struck into the coffin when he was controversially left out of the Blues' opening matchday squad, which fell to a 2-0 loss against popular Premier League outright picks Man City. Furthermore, the recent signings of both Pedro Neto and Joao Felix will have pushed Sterling further down the pecking order in SW6.
The England international was recently advised by Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca that he would “struggle for minutes”, and was told to train away from the first team squad as a result. Naturally, some have argued that Enzo's decision to drop Sterling completely is harsh, in light of his relatively consistent ability as a forward in the Premier League.
Indeed, Sterling netted 91 times in 225 appearances for his old employers Man City, and his current record at Chelsea stands at 14 goals in 59 appearances. The latter return equates to roughly one goal in every four games, which – with Sterling being 29 and still in the prime of his career – could well be increased under the right regime.
Which clubs are interested in signing Raheem Sterling?
Manchester United
The current betting suggests that Manchester United are leading the chase for Sterling's signature, with average odds of 11/8 as of Wednesday evening. However, the deal looks somewhat complicated, with a lot relying on the current Jadon Sancho saga being resolved.
Chelsea, who are admirers of Jadon Sancho, have reportedly offered a player and cash offer to bring Sancho to Stamford Bridge, with Sterling being one of the players involved in the possible deal. Manchester United have plenty of options in forward areas, and as much as they'd prefer Sancho off the wage bill, they wouldn't be under any pressure to replace him.
This suggests that if a deal for Sterling was to go ahead, it would need to make financial sense from their point of view.
Juventus
Juventus were much shorter in the betting last week to sign Sterling. However, the Italian side have taken a backwards step from the deal, and are now focused on signing Jadon Sancho from Manchester United.
The Bianconeri have reportedly offered a loan deal for Jadon Sancho, which would include paying a proportion of the players wages. Given that Juventus have seemingly taken a backwards step from signing Sterling, their average price of 12/1 to sign him is highly reflective of the new situation.
With that said, anything can happen on deadline day. After all, Juventus are in the market for a winger again due to Chiesa signing for Liverpool, so it's a price that still has some value.
Will Sterling stay after all?
Sterling remaining at Chelsea is currently marked up at 5/2 in most places. In terms of implied probability, that is far likelier than a move to Juventus, but less so than a move to Old Trafford. And so, even though there isn't much time for negotiation, there seems to be universal confidence that Sterling will force a move somewhere this window.
- Resident horse racing tipster for MFT - 5 Years experience within sport writing and horse racing
