West Ham are hours away from Raheem Sterling boost as crucial decision imminent
Raheem Sterling has already been linked with a move to West Ham.
West Ham made the most of the winter transfer window, with almost £50million spent on players who will hopefully boost their chances of avoiding the drop.
The Irons bolstered their attacking options signficantly, while the loan arrival of Axel Disasi will be the one they look to in the hope of improving their dismal defensive record under Nuno Espirito Santo.
However, West Ham may not be quite done there when it comes to adding players to their squad, with Sterling linked with a move to the London Stadium on a free transfer.
Raheem Sterling must decide on his future ambitions
At 31 years old, Sterling doesn’t have many moves ahead of him, and there is every possibility that his next will be his last.
And that is why the next decision will prove crucial, and also why it may benefit West Ham.
If Sterling wants to play European football this season, he must have signed for his new club by midnight on Thursday, 5 February, which, at the time of writing, is just hours away.
Otherwise, he will miss the registration required for clubs to make any changes to their squad from the previous rounds of the competition.
Should that be the case, West Ham’s chances of signing Sterling may be improved greatly, given that European competitors are likely to have moved on from their interest.
Would West Ham benefit from signing Sterling?
Given his age and the lack of gametime over the last 12 months, reservations over the signing of Sterling would be more than warranted.
But given his record throughout his career, it would be a no-brainer, but dependent on wages.
Sterling would add goals from the wide areas at the London Stadium, which is something West Ham have struggled with away from Jarrod Bowen, who, even by his standards, has not been at his best.
Even when his career started going backwards, Sterling still managed 33 goal contributions in 81 appearances for Chelsea, and then six in 28 at Arsenal.
Given the drop in quality between those two sides and the Irons, he would find it hard to hit those numbers again, but they certainly showcase that he still has plenty of quality to offer to his next club.