Raheem Sterling completed a move to Feyenoord after terminating his Chelsea contract during the January window, with the England international linking up with Robin van Persie
Raheem Sterling of Arsenal during a training session at the Emirates Stadium
Raheem Sterling has joined Feyenoord on a deal until the end of the season(Image: Arsenal via Getty)
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Robin van Persie has confirmed Feyenoord have hastily organised a training camp in Belgium so Raheem Sterling can join his new team-mates.
The England international completed a shock move to the Dutch giants earlier this week, after mutually agreeing to terminate his Chelsea contract during the January window. It is understood that Sterling spoke to 18 clubs before settling on Feyenoord, where he will play under former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Van Persie.
Sterling hadn’t played a single minute for Chelsea this season and will be desperate to hit the ground running and help reboot his stuttering career. But the 31-year-old is being made to wait due to work permit issues.
Feyenoord played without their free agent signing on Sunday, beating Go Ahead Eagles 1-0, with Sterling not even able to train with his new colleagues.
But in order to get around the current impasse, Van Persie has confirmed his players will fly out for a camp on Monday, where they will be joined by the four-time Premier League champion.
Van Persie said: "That's allowed abroad. We're doing it for him, but I also want to work on our team development. We can have some good conversations and do something fun together.
"He'll start training the day after tomorrow," Van Persie added. "We'll see each week when he's fit for a match. That will take some time, but that seems logical to me, since he hasn't played for six months."
Speaking after his move was made official, Sterling said: “As a free agent, I've had, for the first time in a long time, the opportunity to control the next step in my career. I wanted to take my time to speak with clubs and their Head Coaches to better understand the role they envisioned for me and ensure that I can add real value in this next chapter.
Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie is looking forward to welcoming Sterling to Feyenoord(Image: Marcel van Dorst/EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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“Having spoken in great detail with CEO Dennis te Kloese and Robin, I'm confident that Feyenoord is a place I can be happy and establish myself as a valued member of the team. Playing abroad is a whole new challenge for me - and one I’m ready to embrace.
“Honestly, I’m just excited to get started. To Feyenoord and particularly Robin and Dennis, thank you for your patience and professionalism as I navigated this process.”
After a disastrous spell at Stamford Bridge, Van Persie insisted that Sterling picked Feyenoord to help rediscover his love of the game.
He said: “Raheem is a great player with a wonderful character. He has chosen the love of the game and hopes to rediscover the joy here in Holland. We are going to help him with that. He has already proven everything in his career. What he is looking for is trust, warmth and love again.”
Sterling’s deal is until the end of this season, but there is still hope that it could become a longer arrangement.
“We hope Raheem enjoys himself so much that he chooses to stay here in Holland. We have to make the most of it,” Van Persie admitted.
“The remarkable thing is that we didn’t really know each other as people, even though we did play against each other at the beginning of his career. Five times, in fact, and I did win three of those games – but don’t tell him that.”
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