Manchester City star drops fresh transfer exit hint

England forward Raheem Sterling has admitted he was “not happy” with his lack of playing time at Manchester City last season.

Sterling was often on the bench as the 2020/21 campaign reached its conclusion and his comments will spark fresh rumours over his future at Man City

He has often been a prolific scorer for City, but he’s sometimes received criticism for not quite doing it as consistently for his country.

Sterling was part of the England team that laboured to a goalless draw against Scotland on Friday – a performance which drew boos from the Wembley crowd at the end of the match and heavy criticism from elsewhere.

The City forward believes there has been a “panic” from outside the camp and insists his squad know not to listen to the outside noise.

“I do feel there’s a bit of an overreaction on the whole in terms of I don’t know if it’s… I just feel there’s more of a panic on the outside than inside the building,” he said.

“At the same the players who have been at a few tournaments, who have huge experience, try to help the other ones.

“I don’t see anyone in the camp that feels any pressure or feels hard done by. As much as we can inside the building the best thing we can do is focus on the training field, focus on what’s being doing inside.

“We really shouldn’t be looking what’s the papers are saying, what pundits are saying.

“That’s something we need to take for the rest of this tournament, the more you listen to outside noise, the more it can affect you.

“If you’re not really looking into that the better it is for you as an individual and as a collective as well.

“We don’t really, I’m not saying on the outside it’s negativity, but we don’t want any negativity creeping in and performance levels dropping, and confidence levels dropping, and that’s all that it will do.”

The England forward contributed 14 goals and nine assists in 48 appearances across all competitions for City last season.

Sterling scored 20 goals in the Premier League alone in 2019/20 and there have been some suggestions that the club could be open to bids this summer.

He has now added some fuel to those flames by opening up on his disappointment at his club situation in the last campaign.

“It is just happiness, just being happy, enjoying my football and that is what I am doing being here with the national team,” he said.

“If you’re not playing, you’re not happy. That’s me, that’s been me since I was a kid, if I’m playing football I am really happy, if I’m not I’m not happy.”

He did not come into Euro 2020 in great form but showed against Croatia why his Manchester City and England managers pick him so often

The forward is clearly enjoying the confidence that England boss Gareth Southgate has in him at the moment, which is in contrast to Guardiola’s treatment.

While he is currently focused on England’s Group D match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, he will also have one eye on his club future.

The Sun reported recently that Arsenal are the most likely destination if Sterling does depart City, with the Gunners willing to pay his £300,000-per-week wages.

Arsenal are known to be in the market for new players this summer following a disappointing 2020/21 campaign, but it remains to be seen if they could land someone of Sterling’s calibre.

The forward has two years left on his City contract and could still commit to the Premier League champions.

The Telegraph have reported that City are ready to open contract talks following the conclusion of Euro 2020 and intend to discuss a new ‘long-term’ deal with his representatives.