It’s no longer a secret that FC Bayern were desperately searching for a new attacker on deadline day, but now another name has come to light that underlines the urgency and creativity of the Munich club: Raheem Sterling. According to a report in the Telegraph, the England international was indeed on the verge of a possible last-minute move to Säbener Straße – initiated by none other than Vincent Kompany himself.
Only now is it known how concrete the talks became. Kompany is said to have picked up the phone on the last day of the summer transfer window 45 minutes before the transfer window closed and contacted his former team-mate directly. The two know each other well from their time at City and have been friends for years. Sterling is said to have reacted accordingly openly to the surprise call.
According to reports, FC Bayern even offered the attacking player a two-year contract, which would have promised him far more stability than the loan that Arsenal had previously used to bring him in from Chelsea. However, the prerequisite was Sterling’s agreement to another short-term loan model – and that was precisely where the problem lay.
Sterling refuses – loan carousel and move abroad put him off
Although Sterling could have imagined a move to Munich in principle, he decided against the move. After his first last-minute loan to Arsenal, the 31-year-old did not want to be pushed into another short-term solution – especially not abroad.
The attacking player has been in a difficult sporting situation for months. He is completely out of the picture at Chelsea, was sold to Arsenal in the summer after a disappointing season and only played six competitive games there. Since returning to the Blues, Sterling has mostly trained individually or with the U21s.
Another last-minute loan transfer would have added even more uncertainty to his already unstable career. Bayern respected this decision – and shortly afterwards landed emergency target Nicolas Jackson.
Bayern’s plan B: Jackson instead of Sterling
As the signing of an attacker was a top priority at the time, those responsible had to react quickly. In the end, Bayern opted for a loan of Nicolas Jackson.
The collapse of the Sterling deal shows just how much effort Munich made on deadline day and what options were actually considered. Sterling still has no prospects at Chelsea – but time was simply too short for a move to Munich and the circumstances too delicate.