Manchester City

Manchester City

Premier League • England

Man City concern amplified as Arsenal target Raheem Sterling comes to big contract decision

Man City winger Raheem Sterling

Rumoured Arsenal target Raheem Sterling has decided to postpone contract talks with Manchester City, giving them less time to sort a renewal before his current terms expire next year.

Sterling’s record for the season stands at 17 goals and eight assists from 46 matches so far. His most recent goal came in the 5-1 thrashing of Wolves on Wednesday night.

Following four goals from the masterful Kevin de Bruyne, Sterling finished at the back post in the 84th minute to round off a comfortable night at Molineux.

Sterling, 27, is in a good place to start for England at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Despite Manchester City nearing another Premier League title and Sterling being in good form, the winger could end up leaving the Etihad this summer.

Reports claim he is a target for Arsenal, as well as their north London and top-four rivals Tottenham.

CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs thinks Arsenal want him to be a typical winger, while Spurs think he can be an out-and-out goalscorer.

The Athletic reporter David Ornstein provides an update on Sterling’s future.

Raheem Sterling postpones contract discussions

He claims the player will wait until June before engaging in any more contract talks with the Citizens.

More specifically, discussions will renew after England’s Nations League matches that month. They begin with Hungary on June 4 and end with the same team 10 days later.

Sterling remains loyal to City, but he could leave if Pep Guardiola doesn’t promise him more starts in the biggest of matches.

This is a problem as Guardiola can also utilise Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden in wide areas.

Sterling pushing back the contract discussions gives City less time to sort out a new deal. The attacker’s current terms expire in 2023. That means he could run this contract down before leaving as a free agent next year.

City will be desperate to sort the situation out. Even if they want to sell Sterling, getting him to pen a new contract will maintain his transfer value.

Elsewhere, there are conflicting reports on Arsenal’s hopes of landing Jesus from City this summer.