Peter Beardsley is the only player to have worn the shirts of Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City – so Raheem Sterling would be following in hallowed footsteps should he get to realise his childhood dream of moving to Old Trafford.

‌Sterling has been told in no uncertain terms that he is surplus to requirements at Chelsea – and with Jadon Sancho still out in the cold in Manchester despite agreeing a truce with United boss Erik ten Hag, it has been suggested that a swap deal makes sense for both clubs.

Ironically, Sterling has confessed to being a United fan when he was growing up in Wembley, while Sancho loved the Chelsea team of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard when he was a boy in South London.

‌But while the notion of the two former England team-mates trading places has a nice whiff of romance about it, for both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Todd Boehly any deal will come down purely to the bottom line.

It might take Sterling some time to win over the United fans given his past at Anfield and the Etihad. But given Ratcliffe has already taken chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox from City, it appears local rivalries aren’t being allowed to get in the way of business.

‌The fact that Sterling has failed to score in any of his 26 games against United for Liverpool, City or Chelsea might also help his cause! United’s first two games of the Premier League season has seen Ten Hag ask Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount rotate in the role of deep-lying striker.

It’s fair to say, the plan hasn’t got the best out of either midfielder. It was only when Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench to score the winner against Fulham that United started to really threaten.‌







Sterling offers the kind of versatility United are missing
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And in the 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday, both players were substituted. United have got no shortage of talent in the wide areas, with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo. Don’t forget, Ten Hag also has £95million winger Antony at his disposal.

‌But Sterling showed during his prime years under Pep Guardiola that he has the kind of versatility that Ten Hag needs. The 29-year-old operated on both flanks under the City boss, sometimes being asked to hold his position out wide to stretch opponents and in other games being used as an inverted winger with the freedom to cut inside.

‌It could even be argued that Sterling was at his very best when he was deployed in the ‘false nine’ position that is currently proving such a conundrum for Ten Hag while striker Rasmus Hojlund is injured.







Sancho needs a clean break from United
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In Guardiola’s first season at the Etihad, he managed just 10 goals. As he continued to develop his game under the Catalan, those numbers leapt to 23, 25 and 31 in the next three seasons. Even in Sterling’s final year at City, when it became clear he would be leaving, he managed to find the net 17 times.

That kind of adaptability and goal threat is just what Ten Hag needs right now – and a swap deal that includes Sancho would also enable the United boss to find a cure for one of his biggest headaches.

‌Where Sancho fits in at Stamford Bridge is another matter given the sheer number of players that they are trying to sell. But what is clear is that the 24-year-old needs a clean break from United – despite the poorly disguised PR attempt to mend his relationship with Ten Hag.

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