Raheem Sterling’s new club announced – here’s how close Everton were to signing him
Raheem Sterling has signed for Feyenoord on a deal until the end of the season despite holding talks over a move to Everton.
The Sun reporter Jack Rosser revealed that Sterling was set to join the Dutch giants via X on Thursday, with the move then announced shortly after.
Feyenoord announced his arrival on the social media site with a post that read: “Raheem Sterling =” alongside red, white and black emojis to signify their club colours.
The England winger has been without a club since he left Chelsea by mutual consent on 28 January, after failing to make an appearance in the first half of the campaign.
Numerous Premier League clubs, such as West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace, were linked with moves for Sterling, but he will instead ply his trade in the Netherlands until at least the end of this season.
Raheem Sterling joins Feyenoord on short-term deal
The Sun journalist Rosser also revealed that Sterling had held talks with Everton over a potential move, but Feyenoord boss Robin Van Persie was instrumental in him choosing to go to the Eredivisie.
He last played a competitive game while on loan at Arsenal last May, where he featured 28 times in all competitions, scoring once and assisting five times.
Sterling won a plethora of trophies while at Man City, but joins a Feyenoord side who look unlikely to clinch the league title this season, as they are 17 points behind PSV in second place.
What has Van Persie previously said about Sterling?
The playing careers of Sterling and Van Persie overlapped in the Premier League while the former was emerging at Liverpool and the latter was at Man United.
They faced off five times as players, and Van Persie was clearly impressed by the England man, as he went on to praise him during the 2019 Community Shield between Man City and Liverpool.
While comparing Reds striker Divock Origi to Sterling live on BT Sport (now TNT Sports) the Dutchman said:
“If you compare him (Origi) with Sterling, for example, if you compare his runs, he’s (Origi) not choosing his runs at the right time.
“You have to make a short run of a couple of metres towards your right and then end up diagonal on your left side to make space for your colleagues as well, or maybe get the ball.
“Sterling, for example, is finding the space and he’s creating it for himself. There’s no book about it, it’s just your feelings and sense of space, where you have to be.“
Van Persie clearly rated Sterling back then, and the 31-year-old now has a great chance to reignite his career under the former Man United striker away from the pressure of the Premier League.