As This Is Futbol informed you last week, Chelsea and Arsenal are both reported to be amongst the contenders for Raheem Sterling’s signature this summer, should Liverpool decide to cash-in on their talismanic 20 year-old amid an arduous contract dispute.
The England international has allegedly rejected a deal worth over £100k per-week that would have extended his Anfield stay past 2017 and revealed in an exclusive interview with the BBC that discussions over a new contract will be put on hold until the end of the season.
Now however, Real Madrid have waged into the war for Liverpool’s £50million-rated star, as reported by Mirror Football.
None over than 1998 World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, now the assistant manager at the Bernabeu, has admitted the European champions are monitoring his transfer situation from afar.
“We know who Raheem Sterling is, and of course we are monitoring him as a player,” said the France icon.
“There are very few players in the world who can improve the Real Madrid squad, so it is going to make sense we monitor the progress of the best young players in the world. We monitored Bale for over a year, the same with Isco and also Varane.
“We monitor many of the best young players in Europe, then if we feel they have something to offer Real Madrid we will contact their club and try and make the next step,” he added.
Where Sterling would actually fit into an attacking line-up alongside Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Isco and James Rodriguez remains to be seen.
But some will speculate that Real’s interest could spell the end of Gareth Bale’s short-lived Los Blancos career, amid reports that Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all keen to sign the Welshman this summer, as reported by The Daily Mail last month.