West Ham target Raheem Sterling won’t be moving to the London Stadium on a free transfer over the coming weeks.
The former England international has been released by Chelsea, which means he is free to join any club he wishes outside of the transfer window.
However, Premier League clubs had to register their 25-man squad for the second half of the season by February 5th.
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If the Hammers had a spare spot, they would have still been able to snap up Sterling, but they have a full 25-player quota, along with every other English top-flight team.
It means that Sterling will have to move abroad or to a lower tier of English football if he wants to play between now and May.
West Ham could have done with a player like Sterling
While the addition of Adama Traore has added depth in Nuno Espirito Santo’s forward line, the Spaniard was only brought in after the decision to sell Luis Guilherme to Sporting Lisbon.
The London club were already short of numbers on the wing before the January transfer window opened, and that hasn’t changed.
Sterling could have provided competition for Crysencio Summerville on the left flank, but the Irons will now have to rely on the Dutchman staying fit.
Nuno says he is happy with his squad
Asked on Friday whether he is pleased with the work that was done during the last transfer window, the West Ham boss replied:
“Yes, I am definitely a lot happier. We have rebalanced the squad, and we are a lot happier. We now have more options.”
It remains to be seen, though, whether the Hammers do have enough to avoid relegation. Some supporters will still feel that the squad is short in certain positions.
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