Chelsea are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca’s side have failed to win any of their past three matches across all competitions, having negotiated the month of November without defeat despite facing Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Arsenal.
Last time out the Blues were beaten 2-1 by Italian side Atalanta in Bergamo, denting their hopes of qualifying automatically for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Now, with the January transfer window fast approaching, it appears that two Premier League clubs could be willing to hand one of Chelsea’s forgotten men a career lifeline.
As per CaughtOffside, both Crystal Palace and Leeds United are showing interest in Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling.
The Englishman hasn’t featured for Chelsea since May 2024 having been completely frozen out of Maresca’s squad.
The winger – who has made just shy of 400 Premier League appearances across his career – spent last season on loan at fierce London rivals Arsenal, but the move failed to reignite his career.
Sterling endured an underwhelming loan spell at Arsenal last season (Photo: News Images Ltd/Alamy)
So far this season the 31-year-old has been training away from the first team squad, having failed to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge over the summer.
The report suggests that Chelsea are still keen to offload the winger and could even consider a mutual termination of his contract, and that has alerted both Leeds and Palace.
German champions Bayern Munich were said to have explored a possible move for the 82-time England international over the summer, while it is also claimed that clubs in the lucrative Saudi Pro League have reignited their interest in the winger.
Sterling’s current contract with Chelsea isn’t set to expire until the end of the 2026/27 season.