Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal are 'discussing' possibility of shock move for £325,000-a-week man

Arsenal are reportedly looking into the possibility of acquiring the Chelsea outcast Raheem Sterling as the clock ticks on this summer’s transfer window. It is a matter of hours before business must shut up for four months and, despite numerous claims at the start of the window that a new attacker would be purchased, as yet no new forward has joined Mikel Arteta’s squad.

The N7 side have, however, welcomed David Raya on a permanent move from Brentford; Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori; Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino and they are said to be close to signing Neto on a season’s loan from Bournemouth after failing with two bids for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

But, with the transfer deadline looming, the transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has taken to his X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that discussions are taking place ‘internally’ over a potential offer for the 29-year-old winger as Arteta continues to search for more depth in attack.

The Italian sports journalist posted: “Arsenal are discussing internally about Raheem Sterling as the opportunity has been offered again this morning. Chelsea want to find a solution for Raheem as he won’t be included in squad again if he says, Enzo Maresca said. Sterling assessing options to decide soon.”

A deal would not be easy to pull off given the 29-year-old still has three years left on his contract with his currently on £325,000-a-week. Manchester United have also been eyeing a move for the winger with talks taking place over a potential swap involving Jadon Sancho and his former England teammate. Aston Villa, Juventus, Crystal Palace and clubs in the Saudi Pro League have also all been linked with an interest in Sterling. While Villa and Palace could remain on the cards, the winger confirmed he would not be seeking a move to Saudi Arabia due to his not wanting to displace his family.

Sterling was bought from Manchester City in July 2022 in a deal worth £47.5m and the then-Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel said he was ‘super happy’ to have secured a move for the forward. However, two years on and five managers later, the England international is now desperately seeking a new home.

Despite scoring 123-league goals in his illustrious Premier League career, Sterling was told in no uncertain terms by the new Chelsea head coach that there would be no place for him in the Stamford Bridge squad, with Maresca stating: “It’s not just Raheem. It’s all the players who are training apart. The moment the transfer window closes, they are not going to get minutes.”