Barcelona reportedly view 26-year-old Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling as their priority target for the January transfer window.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Barcelona appear to be finalising their plans for the January transfer window. And their priority target this winter will be Raheem Sterling, and they will look to land the 26-year-old attacker on loan from Premier League champions Manchester City.
Raheem Sterling has come a long way since completing a controversial move from Liverpool to Manchester City in the summer of 2015. The last half a dozen years have largely breezed by for the English international, who has been a key figure for club and country during this period, although he has struggled to recreate his heroics on international level for City of late.
Indeed, so far this season, the 26-year-old has a paltry tally of one goal and two assists in 12 outings to show for his efforts. As a result, there have been suggestions that the Premier League champions could well be offloading Sterling soon, with the player being heavily linked with Barcelona in recent times.
There have been suggestions that Barcelona had been keen on signing Sterling in the summer as well, but a move never really materialised. The interest in the player, though, has not dissipated since then, with the Blaugrana still hot on the trails of the English attacker.
In fact, recent reports have claimed that Barcelona are plotting a January move for the 26-year-old, with SPORT now clarifying that they will seek a loan move, and are prioritising a move for him this winter. However, it is not clear whether Manchester City will agree to such a deal, even though the Catalan giants are ready to include a mandatory purchase option in the contract as well.
Sterling, for his part, would be open to leaving the Premier League champions in favour of a switch to Camp Nou. The interest from Barcelona makes sense as well, considering they are in desperate need of goals from attackers apart from Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay.
While Sergio Aguero can be expected to chip in regularly, his fitness woes are well documented, meaning an additional option in the form of Sterling should not hurt. Having said that, it remains to be seen if Manchester City are ready to send the 26-year-old attacker out on loan this January or if the Premier League champions demand a permanent transfer instead.
