Raheem Sterling Transfer Rumours: Latest News, Manchester City Speculation

Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling is reportedly "fearing for his future" at the club under inbound manager Pep Guardiola amid rumours he could be demoted from the starting XI.

Continue for updates.

---

Sterling Suffering From 'Crisis of Confidence'

Friday, May 27

The Mirror's Dave Kidd reported on Friday that Sterling has suffered since moving to City in a £49 million switch last summer, and the tiki-taka approach Guardiola is likely to enforce won't suit his natural game.

The BBC's Neil Henderson provided a look at the Mirror's back page, which reported Sterling's "collapse in form" for club and country has fuelled his drop in confidence regarding his future:

A massive summer lies ahead for Guardiola after he makes his move from Bayern Munich to Manchester City, and it's likely the squad will be transformed to suit the new manager's needs.

Kidd wrote that Manuel Pellegrini promoted a "two-touch style" during his time at the Etihad Stadium, and Guardiola's approach to the sport will probably mean a work ethic even closer to that dynamic.

At Anfield, Sterling delighted in running at players and benefited from a long-ball game given his advantage in speed, but former Barcelona chief Guardiola prefers a tighter passing tactic.

However, James Robson of the Manchester Evening News recently said City are still hopeful Sterling will prove worthy of the significant fee paid for his services in 2015:

The 21-year-old has scored 11 goals in 47 appearances for the Citizens so far and started in 34 of those games, but his prominence in Pellegrini's starting XI decreased noticeably in the second half of the 2015-16 season.

According to Kidd, Sterling was "distraught" after being withdrawn during England's 2-1 friendly win over Turkey on Sunday. But England and City team-mate Joe Hart has said the winger has nothing to prove, per Goal's Sam Lee:

"

He's got no point to prove, Raheem. I see Raheem work hard every day trying to improve. He's 21, he's fully aware of that and he's going to get better. And he's excited. He's an exciting footballer, someone I enjoy working with and I really want to do well.

He was really good [on Sunday]. He got kicked to pieces because they couldn't deal with him, simple as that. I think maybe in a [European] Championship game a few of them would have been walking a lot tighter rope than they were.

But it was good. I was excited to see it. It was tough for Raheem towards the end of the season - he wasn't starting games - that's gone and it's a fresh chapter.

"

Euro 2016 will provide Sterling with a huge opportunity to show new boss Guardiola that he is worth retaining as a member of his City squad, even if recent displays have been below his best.

Kidd mentioned Guardiola will be looking for up to eight new first-team players in his first summer at the helm, and Sterling needs a quick turnaround in form if he's to fulfil his potential under the former Camp Nou boss.