Raheem Sterling will need to lower his salary demands if he wants to move to Napoli, club sporting director Giovanni Manna admits.
Sterling became a free agent on January 28 after he agreed to mutually end his Chelsea contract. His three-year stint at Stamford Bridge was largely forgettable and he didn’t feature in Liam Rosenior’s plans.
Gli Azzurri tried to manufacture a deal in the summer but it never came to fruition. Much of that was owing to Sterling’s lofty pay packet and it’s likely to be a case of deja vu this time around.
Raheem Sterling On Napoli’s Radar
Napoli’s interest in Raheem Sterling comes as little surprise after their efforts in the off-season to bring him to Naples. And with the injury crisis Antonio Conte is facing, striking a deal would certainly ease the pressure.
Even more so as Conte saw his charges crash out of the Champions League. Ironically, it was Sterling’s former employers Chelsea who clinched a 3-2 win at the Maradona Stadium.
That meant Gli Azzurri missed out on the playoffs and will now have just Serie A and the Coppa Italia to focus on. Something of which the club’s hierarchy didn’t envisage after the success last year.
Nonetheless, bringing Sterling on board will perhaps be another hurdle that can’t be mastered. The 31-year-old was reportedly earning £325,000 a week at Stamford Bridge.
Naturally, that figure is very much above what Napoli would be willing to pay. Even more so as they will miss out on UCL matchday revenue and prize money.
Giovanni Manna On Raheem Sterling
“Raheem is very good, but he hasn’t been playing for a long time,” Giovanni Manna explained on the possibility of bringing Sterling to Italy.
But it’s not just the former Liverpool and Manchester City star’s fitness that are a concern. Manna says a deal is hard to navigate with the monetary aspect involved.
“We spoke with him during the summer but I see it as difficult right now, he has significant financial expectations,” Manna said.
However, reports in England say that the 31-year-old is open to a move abroad. That would likely mean Sterling dropping his wage demands in order to find a suitor.
After all, he isn’t getting any younger and there are few teams on the continent who would match the terms he received whilst at Chelsea.
That in itself gives Napoli hope. Especially as former teammate Kevin De Bruyne took the plunge in the summer. Sterling is at the point in his career where minutes on the pitch are a bigger incentive than money.
