Raheem Sterling tipped for Saudi Arabia transfer as Chelsea 'send a message' that he must leave

08/20/2024 08:46 AM

Raheem Sterling has been tipped for a surprise transfer to Saudi Arabia amid the chaos at Chelsea and the England winger's uncertain future at the club.

Premier League legend Graeme Souness believes a Middle East move is the only realistic option for the 29-year-old if he wants to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

Sterling was let out of Chelsea's matchday squad for their season opener against his former club Man City, sparking rumours of a possible departure before the August 30 transfer deadline.

He wasn't the only one, though, with vice-captain Ben Chilwell, last season's stand-in skipper Conor Gallagher and £98million striker Romelu Lukaku also nowhere to be seen as the club looks to trim its 40-strong squad after a number of big-spending windows.

While Gallagher and Lukaku are set for moves to Atletico Madrid and Napoli, a stay in the Premier League has been suggested for Sterling, with Newcastle and even Crystal Palace possible options.

Juventus and clubs in Turkey have also been linked as potential next destinations.

However, with three-years still remaining on his Chelsea contract worth £325,000-a-week, there may only be one place he can go if he wants out of west London.

"Where is the market for Raheem Sterling? Saudi Arabia, end of," Souness told White and Jordan on talkSPORT.

"And the kind of money he would want, he's not going to get that again in England.

"The kind of transfer fee Chelsea would want, I don't think there's going to be anyone in England."

Sterling's exit appears to have become increasingly more likely following comments made from the new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

The forward's omission from the squad to face City sparked a statement from his representatives questioning the decision, with the manager explaining why after the 2-0 defeat on Sunday.

"The only thing I can say it has been a technical decision," said Maresca. "In the next days we will see it and clarify the situation.

"All the players in this moment, they are Chelsea players. If they are going be Chelsea players, we are going to try and use them.

"I want Raheem Sterling, but I want all the players we have and there is no space for all of them. So for some of them, they have to leave."

Chelsea's move to exclude Sterling was a calculated one, 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 signal he has no future at the club.

"There have been suggestions that he's still looking for talks for clarification on what's going on, but I think Chelsea are sending him a pretty strong message.

"They signed Neto last week, left Sterling out of the squad on Sunday and they're just about to sign Joao Felix. I don't think he 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 shuts?"

Sterling joined Chelsea from Man City in 2022 for a fee of £47.5million, with the England international tallying 31 direct goal contributions [19 goals, 12 assists] in 81 appearances for the Blues.

His public statement about being dropped led to strong criticism from several pundits, particularly over the timing of its release before his teammates had even stepped on the pitch 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 putting a statement out an hour-and-a-half before kick-off because of the fact he has got colleagues and team-mates, and I think you respect them.

"Forget the club, forget the manager – it happened once with Wayne Rooney at United – you are our teammate so don't distract from what we are doing. So I think Raheem probably needs to go and have a chat and say that was poor timing.

"For Raheem, who I love to bits, 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 like he needs to punch back.

"He might be thinking, 'I have got to alert people to what's going on here', because it is unusual to put a statement out."