Football news - Barcelona target Manchester City's Raheem Sterling on loan deal - Paper Round
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Updated 06/10/2021 at 08:32 GMT+1
Barcelona are keen to bring Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling to the club on loan, while Bayern Munich's interest in Chelsea defender in Antonio Rudiger has flattered the player. Elsewhere, Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic has rejected an offer of a new contract, and Barcelona are finding it hard to keep their existing players.
Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
Image credit: Getty Images
Barcelona want Sterling
The Mirror report that Raheem Sterling is a target for Barcelona, with the Spanish club wanting the 26-year-old winger on loan until the end of the season. Barcelona have freed up room on their wage bill by sending Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appears to prefer Jack Grealish and others to Sterling so far this season.
Paper Round’s view: Sterling has often been linked with a move to Real Madrid, but he would be unlikely to turn down the chance to stake a claim at Barcelona. A move for six months would also give him the chance to experience regular first team football again, which might help attract other major clubs next summer when club finances around Europe should have improved.
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Rudiger honoured by Bayern interest
The Sun reports that Antonio Rudiger could be close to moving on from Chelsea, with the 28-year-old German defender disappointed by his latest contract offer from the club. His contract runs until the end of the season, and Bayern’s boss Julian Nagelsmann recently praised the player. Now Rudiger has said:“"FC Bayern interest honors me because that shows that I've done a few things right recently”
Paper Round’s view: Rudiger reportedly wants £400,000-a-week wages to stay, which is the kind of salary that only the very best in the game are able to earn. Chelsea have to decide if they will benefit from keeping him on or if it is more affordable to spend that money elsewhere on the pitch, or pay up for a player who will cost less in terms of wages.
Vlahovic turns down contract
There is good news for Arsenal as they search for a replacement for Alexandre Lacazette, with Mikel Arteta expecting the Frenchman to leave. Fiorentina’s 21-year-old Serbian international, Dusan Vlahovic has rejected a contract offer from his current club, and his deal runs for another 21 months. That means that Atletico Madrid, Spurs and Manchester City could all grab a bargain.
Paper Round’s view: Helpfully for Fiorentina, if a number of clubs want Vlahovic it may go some way to keeping his price up while there is a potential bidding war on the cards. Lacazette has struggled in recent years at Arsenal and they have been deliberately reducing the average age of the squad under Arteta, and Vlahovic would allow them to continue to do so.
Barcelona face contract struggles
Spanish newspaper Marca reports that Barcelona face a struggle to get a number of players tied down to new contracts. Pedri and Ansu Fati both have options on their deals for the club to extend to 2024 but are pressing for longer deals, Ronald Araujo has a contract until 2023, but Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele both have deals that expire at the end of the season.
Paper Round’s view: Barcelona managed to lose their best player through disorganisation once his contract expired, and with their financial problems nowhere near close to being resolved, things could get far worse yet. Roberto and Dembele will both attract attention from big European clubs so there is little wiggle room for them to make any errors.
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