Troy Deeney stuns fans with bold claim about Raheem Sterling's proposed transfer to Man Utd

Troy Deeney has stunned fans with a bold claim about Raheem Sterling's potential move to Manchester United.

Man United have already made five big-name signings this summer, but they could still pull off the shock transfer of the summer.

United have held talks with Chelsea over a potential move for Raheem Sterling, who has fallen out of favour at Stamford bridge.

The 29-year-old has been training away from the Chelsea first team after new manager Enzo Maresca told him he will struggle for game time this season.

Sterling, who joined Chelsea in a £50 million deal two years ago, has played for United's two biggest rivals in Liverpool and Manchester City.

The England international made a name for himself at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers before joining City in 2015, where he won 10 major trophies before moving to Chelsea in 2022.

Though Sterling doesn't fit the transfer strategy of United sporting director Dan Ashworth - he is 29 years old and earns a huge £325,000 per week salary - the man in charge of United's transfer dealings is understood to be a fan of the winger.

While United will only complete a deal on their terms, they could use wantaway attacker Jadon Sancho in a swap deal.

Given Sterling's underwhelming stint at Chelsea and his history with United's rivals, many supporters of Erik ten Hag's side aren't thrilled with the prospect of signing him.

However, former Premier League striker Troy Deeney feels Sterling would be a good addition to United.

"He's better than anything they've got there," Deeney told Sky Sports News.

Raheem Sterling in action against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Image: Getty

"At the moment he's delivering more than what Marcus [Rashford] is doing. He'd give more of a leadership role to the likes of [Alejandro] Garnacho and Amad [Diallo] who scored at the weekend, so those guys will look at Raheem and see that he won it at City, see what he did at Liverpool and on the international stage and go 'right, I can learn from that'.

"I think United fans will look at him as an improvement, because when I watch United, I think they did okay at the weekend but they're missing a few bits.

"They need a winger, I don't think Marcus is delivering, Anthony is [offering] nothing. I don't mean that disrespectfully, but they're not offering nothing to the level that they should do for a team like United."

Plenty of United fans couldn't believe what Deeney said.

"Show's how much he knows," one fan replied on X, while another commented: "Sterling is a decent player, but anyone saying that he's better than anything Manchester United have got isn't watching or following United games."

One fan wrote: "Sterling is not what Man United need, not saying he is good or bad but its just not the piece they need to solve that puzzle."