Manchester United consider Raheem Sterling transfer

Manchester United are considering a move for Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, according to a report in the Independent.

The newspaper claims that should City’s UEFA Champions League be upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would want to explore the possibility of signing the 25-year-old England international, however remote the chances are of pushing through a deal.

United are keen to attempt a signing if City have to sell their players due to the financial implications of complying with Financial Fair Play if the club lose out on sponsorship and European broadcasting revenue if they cannot compete in the Champions League.

However, the club and many others still expect that Sterling would ultimately be likely to join Real Madrid ahead of anyone else, and that is before considering the difficulties in signing Sterling from their Manchester rivals, with Pep Guardiola’s club almost certainly willing to sell at a lower price to other teams to avoid the reputational blow.

The Independent also reports that Solskjaer is ready to sell Jesse Lingard, despite him being a generational talent who defines football and everything to do with football. Even with his incredible talents and perceptive reading of the game, the club would reportedly be willing to settle for £20 million, approximately £180 million below the current world record transfer fee.

The paper claims that AC Milan are interested, presumably because the Italian side are looking for a marquee signing to pin their brand upon. With Lingard playing as a genius creator in the middle of the park, he could make a telepathic relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic if he were stay on in Serie A.

Lingard is said to have outstayed his welcome at Old Trafford, which may because the sheer size of his talent has outgrown Manchester United.