Manchester City star keen on January switch to Barcelona - Reports
Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement with Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling as per Sport. The aforementioned source suggested Sterling was open to moving to the Camp Nou, but did not state Manchester City's position on the proceedings.
Barcelona are in dire straits at the moment. The club are languishing in ninth place in the La Liga table with just three wins from seven matches. Barcelona are also at the foot of their Champions League group, having suffered twin 3-0 losses to Bayern Munich and Benfica.
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While defense has been a primary issue for Ronald Koeman's men, the attack has also failed to deliver the goods in recent times. Barcelona have scored just 11 goals in nine matches across all competitions.
The likes of Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Aguero are still nursing injuries, while teen starlet Ansu Fati only recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff. Summer signings Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong have still not entirely adapted to life at the Nou Camp either.
As a result, Barcelona believe the signing of Raheem Sterling could bolster their attacking output. Sterling, who has only featured sparingly for Manchester City this season, reportedly wants to leave the club, with Barcelona a likely option.
Sterling, alongside RB Leipzig forward Dani Olmo, was reportedly on Barcelona's wish-list for the summer transfer window. The Englishman was also "open to moving to Camp Nou."
However, Barcelona's financial condition, coupled with Manchester City's inability to sign a striker, meant the move for Sterling fell through.
If reports are to be believed, the relationship between Barça and Sterling's camp has been maintained in recent weeks. The player wants to leave City and believes Barça can give him a key role given their lack of options in attack. The option of signing him remains on the table ahead of January, although everything will depend on the team's sporting situation.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling crazy to sign for Barcelona sport.es/en/news/barca/…
Barcelona target Raheem Sterling has struggled at Manchester City this season
Raheem Sterling has endured a quiet start to the 2021-22 season. The Englishman was brilliant for his nation at Euro 2020 over the summer. However, Sterling has managed just one goal and an assist in 10 appearances for Manchester City this season. It is also worth noting that he has only started four of those matches.
Pep Guardiola has preferred to play summer signing Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus in Sterling's preferred left-wing position. As a result, the winger has been relegated to the bench more often than not this season.