Barcelona will compete with Real Madrid over Premier League star

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: Manchester City's Raheem Sterling drives into the penalty area under pressure from Liverpool's Joe Gomez during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City at Anfield on October 7, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Rich Linley - CameraSport via Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: Manchester City's Raheem Sterling drives into the penalty area under pressure from Liverpool's Joe Gomez during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City at Anfield on October 7, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Rich Linley - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Barcelona aren’t going to let Real Madrid have all the glory…

Barcelona are going through a tough time this season. While they did pick up a win against Getafe in La Liga this weekend, it’s going to take more than that to convince fans they are in a good position for the rest of the season.

It’s still early days but surely the club officials are already looking ahead to the January transfer window. They had a good transfer window in the summer, bringing in the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong. However, these acquisitions were clearly not enough.

Barcelona sit in fourth place of La Liga currently. This is by no means disastrous but for a club the size of Barca, they should really be doing better. Depending on what happens in the Sevilla vs Real Sociedad match tonight, they could even fall further behind in the league.

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That said, there is good news for the Catalans. According to Diario Gol, a primary transfer target has been located by Ernesto Valverde and company. The Spanish outlet reports that Barcelona will challenge Real Madrid for the signature of Raheem Sterling, who is valued highly by Manchester City.

The report suggests that the Citizens have set an asking price of €169m for Sterling. This is because he is one of their prized possessions and he is tipped to be one of the best players in the world as he enters his peak.

Sterling is in good form this season, especially after finding the net in City’s recent win over Everton. He has added plenty to his game since working under Pep Guardiola and fans all across the Premier League will tell you he is only on the rise.

Barcelona fans know the positive impact that being coached by Guardiola can have. Sterling is a prime example of this since he has developed into one of City’s most important players during the best era of their club history.

Question marks are still raised around his finishing ability since he does squander a lot of chances. However, this is something that will be fixed given time and besides, the number of chances he creates for himself still get him on the scoresheet often.

He is a lively, energetic winger who likes to get in behind the opposition. He has plenty of footballing intelligence and he knows when and where to make the right runs, so he would be perfect for Barcelona’s fluid passing system.

Do you think Raheem Sterling will leave Manchester City anytime soon?