Sterling told he can leave Man City after announcement of Haaland signing

Spanish transfer outlet Fichajes has claimed that Manchester City have told Raheem Sterling that he can leave the club after they announced the signing of Erling Haaland.

Sterling has been a key part of Guardiola’s side since the Catalan took over at the Etihad. However, he has never been able to truly make fans and the manager happy enough to keep him on the team sheet often unlike Kevin De Bruyne and a few others.

The English forward had attempted to leave the Etihad last summer and in the January transfer windows when City touted the signing of Harry Kane alongside their £100 million purchase of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa. He was reported to be favouring a move to Barcelona and it is known that the Catalan club maintains an interest in the forward.

However, he remained at the club and recently scored his 50th goal in front of the home fans at Etihad to make him the second Manchester City player to hit that milestone after legendary striker Sergio Aguero (106).

But with the signings of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Julian Alvarez from River Plate, it is understood that the club have opened the doors to his exit if he wants to.

Sterling has featured 45 times this season for City and has scored 16 goals while providing seven assists. The 27-year-old is also a target for Arsenal and Newcastle United.

Tottenham in the lead for Sterling signature

Recent reports have also claimed that Tottenham Hotspur have entered the race as well to sign Sterling, who is on a £300,000-a-week wage at City.

Journalist Ben Jacobs made these claims to a fan-run Arsenal website Gooner Talk. Jacobs said: “Sterling is an interesting one because I do think that the door is open for Sterling to leave Manchester City. I think there will be almost a North London derby-style pursuit for Sterling and, from what I gather, should he leave Manchester City, Tottenham are ahead of Arsenal in that particular pursuit.

“So if Sterling is to join Arsenal, then Edu and Arteta are going to have to move quite quickly, but I think that Sterling is very intent – even though he will know Arteta very well – to play under Conte as his next manager if he is to make a move.

“The reason for that is because Tottenham have given him guarantees about style and about position. I think that Tottenham’s pitch is around ‘let’s get you back to doing what you do best’, which is scoring goals, and I think Arsenal’s pitch is going to be ‘let’s get you back to what you did at the beginning of your career,’ which is being a very fluid, very versatile wide player that cuts inside.”

But it is unlikely that the 27-year-old will move to a club in England after seven years at a club where he won nine trophies.