Several factors have contributed to Raheem Sterling's largely underwhelming performances at Manchester City in 2021, but the England star might just be getting back on track
Jack Grealish's £100million switch from Aston Villa, along with impressive form from the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden saw Sterling consigned to the bench.
He has made just seven starts, with an average of 49 minutes per game in all competitions this season.
But on the most recent of those, he opened the scoring with a brilliantly taken half volley on the end of Joao Cancelo's sumptuous outside-of-the-foot pass - setting in motion City's 3-0 win over Everton on Sunday, concluding another weekend when his future was very much on the news agenda.
In October, Sterling said he would be open to leaving Manchester in pursuit of more game time and Barcelona, under new boss Xavi, have been frequently linked to a player who is out of contract in June 2023.
City is Ours editor Dom Farrell was joined by social engagement writer Jai Mcintosh on Facebook Live on Monday delve into Sterling's present circumstances and what the future might hold.
Dom kickstarted the discussion by outlining how the 26-year-old is one of the few players who could seamlessly slot into Barcelona's tactical fabric.
DF: "With the slump continuing after the Euros you do start to think is it better for everybody if people moved on. It's probably a credit to Sterling after these years working with Pep that he is viewed by Xavi as this guy you could plug in and play at Barcelona.
"Barcelona have bought players from all over the world over the past five years and sometimes it's not gone very well.
"If they're getting back to that Barcelona style, that Guardiola and [Johan] Cruyff style, there are few players in world football with a better understanding of that than Raheem Sterling.
"That speaks volumes of him and shows what an asset he is."
Dom continued by suggesting that Sterling's career at the Etihad is far from over and alluded to how the recent resurgences from Jesus and Bernardo Silva could be replicated by another crowd favourite.
DF: "I think [Barcelona] could be a good move for both parties but at the same time Bernardo Silva is back at the top of his game. There are guys who have had pretty long slumps and time out of the team under Guardiola can it can come around again.
"Gabriel Jesus is another example. He was rested at the weekend and he is almost certain to start against Paris Saint-Germain - he's one of the main men again.
"So, a lot of players get a third act under Pep. It is never done when it seems to be done - Leroy Sane is a bit of an exception. If this is the time for Sterling to leave then I'll understand it but there are little things you see and think maybe we're not done yet."
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