Arsenal and Chelsea on alert as Raheem Sterling tells friends he wants to return to London
Match

Arsenal and Chelsea on alert as Raheem Sterling tells friends he wants to return to London

Wayne Veysey
Wayne Veysey

Founder & Managing Director AUTHORITY Former chief correspondent at Evening Standard, Goal and Press Association with nearly three decades in national, regional and digital news and sports journalism. Wayne directs the network’s news strategy and high-level operations. FOCUS Editorial direction for the 11-site network and newsroom management. THE BRIEF Wayne oversees the network’s editorial standards across the network. He provides the final sign-off on all headline scoops, ensuring content across all platforms meets the standards required for a high-velocity newsroom.

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EXCLUSIVE | By Merseyside correspondent

Arsenal and Chelsea have been given encouragement that English football's hottest property Raheem Sterling is keen to move to a London club.

Football Insider

sources have learned that Sterling has told friends that he wants to return to the capital. The Jamaica-born forward was raised in Wembley and came through the youth system at QPR before joining Liverpool as a 15-year-old. Despite Brendan Rodgers insisting on Thursday that Sterling is going nowhere this summer, Arsenal and Chelsea have been told that Sterling might be available and are closely monitoring what could develop into the biggest transfer saga of the forthcoming window. Both clubs have a genuine interest in a player whose situation is also being monitored by Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. Sterling stunned Liverpool by giving an interview on Wednesday in which he claimed he is not motivated by money in stalling over a £100,000-a-week contract and admitting he is "quite flattered" at being linked with Arsenal. Rodgers said: "He’s got two-and-a-half years to go on his deal and he’s not going anywhere in the summer. I cannot speak for the owners but I have a good idea of what they would do. I know them well enough and for me it would not happen. Liverpool are one of the superpowers of football and the owners have made it clear that money doesn’t come into it. If the club doesn’t want to sell, it won’t sell, it’s as simple as that. Money has never been the objective for the club.

"Whatever player — Raheem or anybody — it would always be on the terms of the club. He still has two-and-a- bit years left of his deal so it’s not something we’re overly concerned about. I’m confident that at the end of the season we’ll find the solution."

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Chelsea FC
Raheem Sterling
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