Raheem Sterling is expected to sort out his Manchester City future once England’s European Championship campaign is over.
But the Blues star - whose goal handed the Three Lions a win in their opening group game against Croatia on Sunday - will discuss a new deal, and fully expects to be a City player next season.
And in a sign that he has it in mind to commit his future to the club, Sterling is set to announce a new community initiative in Manchester to mirror work he has done with kids in the deprived London borough of Brent, where he grew up.
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Sterling still has two years left on his contract at City, and is focussed entirely on England at the moment - as with all the Blues players involved, there will be no discussions about their future until the tournament is over.
And the fact that his current deal is up in 2023 has provoked a welter of speculation about Sterling’s future, with the player being linked with Barcelona, and Arsenal, and even being mentioned as a possible pawn in the game to try to land Tottenham ace and his England teammate Harry Kane.
The player had an ordinary season for City, his 14 goals being his lowest tally since his first year under Pep Guardiola.
And he was kept out of the side for long spells in the second half of the season, with Guardiola citing the excellent form of Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez as the reasons for his exclusion in big games.
That alone led to speculation about Sterling’s future, and even his dramatic recall for the Champions League final defeat by Chelsea could not quell the noise.
But sources close to Sterling say that the clamour about a move away from City is empty, and that he fully expects to be a City player next season.
Sterling said last week, prior to his Euro heroics, that he was shutting out all the speculation about his future by ignoring social media and keeping his eyes on the ball.
Guardiola’s consistent team selection for big matches last season has led to a few unhappy players, with Sterling, Aymeric Laporte, and Gabriel Jesus among them.
But any grievances, and any potential moves, are on hold until the Euros are completed.
City moved quickly to close down speculation that Ilkay Gundogan was stalling on a new contract amid reported interest from Barcelona.
The fact was that there have been no talks, with Gundogan or anyone else, and won’t be any until next month.
