Raheem Sterling tipped for possible Saudi Arabia move as Chelsea 'send message' he must go
Raheem Sterling is rumoured to be making a surprise transfer to Saudi Arabia amid chaos at Chelsea and the England winger's uncertain future at the club.
Premier League legend Graeme Souness believes a move to the Middle East is the only realistic option for the 29-year-old if he is to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Sterling was dropped from Chelsea's squad for the match for his first game of the season against his former club Manchester City, sparking rumours of a possible exit before the August 30 transfer deadline.
He was not alone, however, with vice-captain Ben Chilwell, last season's stand-in captain Conor Gallagher and £98m striker Romelu Lukaku also failing to feature as the club look to cut back His 40-man team after a series of big spending windows.
While Gallagher and Lukaku are set to sign for Atletico Madrid and Napoli, a Sterling has been tipped to remain in the Premier Leaguewith Newcastle and even Crystal Palace as possible options.
Juventus and other Turkish clubs have also been linked as possible next destinations.
However, with three years still left on his Chelsea With a contract worth £325,000 a week, there may only be one place he can go if he wants to leave west London.
“Where is the market for Raheem Sterling“Saudi Arabia, end of the war,” Souness said. White and Jordan on talkSPORT.
“And the kind of money he wants, he won't get again in England.
“I don't think there's anyone in England who would offer the kind of transfer that Chelsea would want.”
Sterling's departure looks increasingly likely following comments from new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
The striker's failure to be included in the squad to face City prompted a statement from his representatives questioning the decision, with the manager explaining why after Sunday's 2-0 defeat.
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“The only thing I can say is that it was a technical decision,” Maresca said. “We will see in the next few days and clarify the situation.”
“All the players at the moment are Chelsea players. If they are going to be Chelsea players, we will try to use them.
“I love Raheem Sterling, but I love all the players we have and there is not room for all of them. So some of them have to go.”
Chelsea's decision to leave Sterling out was calculated, according to Chelsea reporter Simon Johnson, who says leaving him out of the squad and making two big signings in his position is a clear sign he has no future at the club.
“There have been suggestions that he is still seeking talks to clarify what is happening, but I think Chelsea are sending him a pretty strong message.
“They He signed Neto last weekleft Sterling out of the team on Sunday and They are about to sign João FélixI don't think it really needs much more clarification than that.
“Chelsea have clearly decided to move on from Raheem Sterling and the question is: can they get him out of the club before the transfer window closes?”
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Sterling joined Chelsea from Man City in 2022 for a fee of £47.5m, with the England international recording 31 direct goal contributions (19 goals, 12 assists) in 81 appearances for the Blues.
His public statement about his exclusion sparked strong criticism from several pundits, particularly for the timing of it, before his teammates had even stepped onto the field on Sunday.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville was one of those critics, although he accepted it could have been a response to other issues “behind the scenes” and not just his personal situation.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, the former defender said: “I can never agree with a player making a statement an hour and a half before kick-off because of the fact that he has colleagues and team-mates, and I think you respect them.
“Forget the club, forget the manager. It's happened once with Wayne Rooney at United. You're our team-mate so don't get distracted from what we're doing. So I think Raheem should probably go and speak to him and say it was a bad moment.”
“As for Raheem, who I adore, I worked with him for a long time (with England), he is experienced and if he is looking at things behind the scenes, he must be seeing things he doesn’t like and feels he needs to fight back.
“You might be thinking, ‘I need to alert people to what’s going on here,’ because it’s unusual to issue a statement.”
