RAHEEM STERLING is edging closer to the Chelsea exit.
The Blues are said to be in talks with Sterling’s representatives to thrash out a deal for the former England international to leave the club before the transfer window closes on Monday.
Fulham and Crystal Palace have previously been linked with loan moves for Sterling, 31, who has been training on his own after being placed in exile in the summer.
The ex-Manchester City star has not played for more than EIGHT months and wants to stay in or around London because his family is settled.
But if Sterling and the club cannot agree on a permanent or temporary move, the possibility remains of a financial settlement to rip up his Chelsea contract and let him leave as a free agent.
Sterling’s current £325,000-per-week deal has just under 18 months to run.
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To pay it up in full would cost £25m, a sum the Blues would not be prepared to swallow.
But Sterling knows he would not earn anything like that amount at another club and will want a substantial payout.
Similarly, any club taking the four-time Premier League winner on loan would want Chelsea to pay a significant chunk of his current wages.
That is why Sterling and the Blues have been in a stand-off since the player returned from spending last season on loan at Arsenal.
But leaked reports of new talks to find a solution suggest they may finally part company.
Sterling joined Chelsea for £50m in the summer of 2022 as the marquee signing of the new owners of the club.
He scored 10 goals in 41 appearances under Mauricio Pochettino in the 2023/24 season.
But Pochettino’s replacement, Enzo Maresca, soon made it clear Sterling was not in his plans.
The former QPR and Liverpool trainee failed to shine during his season at Arsenal and made his last competitive appearance on May 25 last year.
On his return to Chelsea, Sterling was exiled to the “bomb squad” with other unwanted players.
While other outcasts moved on and Axel Disasi recently earned a recall to the first team under the “clean slate” promised by new boss Liam Rosenior, Sterling has been left training on his own.
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