Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is on Barcelona’s agenda for the winter market, and that’s been repeatedly stressed in the Catalan media over the past few weeks.
The winger has seen his playing time reduced this season and made his third league start of the season in his side’s 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.
His contract runs down in 2023 and even though the Citizens want to tie the 26-year-old to a new deal, reports in the British press have stated Sterling doesn’t want to commit his long-term future to the club.
A ‘confidential’ report from Sport now states the England international remains the ‘great desire’ of the Catalan club for the winter market.
Barca’s challenge is to bolster the attacking division in January and they have probed several forwards, with the former Liverpool man being their main target.
Mateu Alemany, the La Liga side’s chief ‘started working’ to sign Sterling in August and Sport say ‘he wants to come’. The club are ‘optimistic’ over the signing, however, a deal is ‘only possible’ if it’s a loan transfer.
Pep Guardiola’s side will have to agree for a temporary deal with a purchase obligation, that must be exercised next summer. And the other condition for Sterling to join Barcelona is linked to Ousmane Dembélé.
The Frenchman’s current deal expires in 2022. If he decides not to sign an extension, Ronald Koeman’s side will place him on the market and ‘try to bring’ Sterling to the Camp Nou in January.
