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Raheem Sterling will remain at Chelsea amid the sense that other players’ futures were prioritised before that of the 30-year-old England international’s this summer.
Sterling’s situation was shrouded in uncertainty heading into deadline day on Monday, much like last summer when his season-long loan to Arsenal was rushed through at the eleventh hour.
Sterling did not need to be forced into a move which was not considered wholly right for him this time around with two years remaining on his contract with Chelsea, who signed him in 2022.
The Blues had the summer to find and present solutions to the player.
It was no secret his preference was to stay in London closer to his children with Fulham and Crystal Palace among those previously linked, but he would have likely moved out of the capital if the right opportunity had been offered.
Despite his salary often being cited as a big stumbling block, the feeling is that wages would not have been an obstacle.
Raheem Sterling is now set to stay at Chelsea despite links to a deadline-day transfer away
Sterling is pictured in warm-weather training in summer - he has trained separately at Chelsea
Indeed, he could have switched to Saudi Arabia previously if money was the priority. The Saudi window will remain open until September 23, but Sterling has no desire to move there this summer.
Evidently, Sterling still has high ambitions and that includes a desire to represent England again someday after winning 82 caps previously. He will now have to focus on continuing to train at Cobham – separately if necessary after he was told to work away from Enzo Maresca’s first team over the summer while up for sale – and will be ready to revisit his future in January.
