Trevor Sinclair has warned former club Manchester City to ‘be careful what they wish for’ as Raheem Sterling edges closer to joining Chelsea.
The ex-City winger also told Blues fans questioning the England international to ‘give their head a wobble’.
Many expect Sterling to join Chelsea in a deal worth between £50m and £60m as the 27-year-old prepares to call time on a glittering seven-year career at the Etihad.
With just one year remaining on his current deal, City appear willing to let Sterling join a Premier League rival, while Sinclair suggests fans do not seem disappointed by his possible departure.
In response, Sinclair delivered a compelling argument as to why every club in the world should want Sterling.
“Some Man City fans seem to be happy to let him go,” he told talkSPORT. “To those I would say: be careful what you wish for.
“Some Chelsea fans are not having him and I’m like, ‘Give your head a wobble!’
“His pace is ridiculous and it’s something you can’t coach. Man City didn’t really have pace in their forward lines.
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“He’s always fit, never gets injured, always available.
“He has unbelieveable resilience, the way he bounces back from disappointments, you hear it from managers past and present that he has a fantastic work ethic in training.
“And he’s got experience now. 339 games at Man City, 131 goals, 95 assists – that’s 226 goal involvements, that’s consistency.
“He’s fourth for goal output, excluding penalties, since 2015/16. Ridiculous. There’s only Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Heung-Min Son above him.
“When you talk about Pep Guardiola not really appreciating him, he’s only had three players score 100 goals under his management: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling.
“He is a top player and he’s 27-years old. Any club in the world should want him.”
When challenged by talkSPORT listeners over his description of Sterling as ‘world-class’, Sinclair explained his reasoning.
He argued that Sterling is in the bracket below the prime of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have to be considered in a world of their own.
“He’s the level below them,” Sinclair said. “Ronaldo and Messi are outer-world class, they’re aliens!
“There’s a level below them, which is still world class.”
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