'He looks lost': Celtic tipped to reignite career of forgotten EPL star as Ibrox great talks up 'massive' move

Celtic have been urged to launch an ambitious move for England international Raheem Sterling, with Parkhead labelled as the ideal stage for him to rediscover his spark and breathe new life into his career, according to Rangers legend Ally McCoist.

The 30-year-old forward was tentatively linked with a move to Celtic earlier this month, with the out-of-favour Chelsea man having previously played under head coach Brendan Rodgers during the pair’s time at Liverpool, where he made 95 appearances during the manager’s time at Anfield between 2012 and 2015.

Sterling spent last year on loan at Arsenal but was unable to make a tangible impact, making just 17 league appearances at the Emirates before returning to Chelsea. Moves to Napoli, Bayern Munich, and Galatasaray were all touted in the summer, but he remained a Chelsea player as the window slammed shut earlier this month.

Raheem Sterling is out of favour at Chelsea, and said to available for transfer when the transfer window re-opens. | Getty Images

Understood to be available for transfer in January, the 82-cap has been tipped to make a shock loan move to the Scottish Premiership with Celtic. Journalist Steve Kay had claimed that Rodgers’ trust in him as a teenager at Liverpool gives him a shot at tempting him across the border, and the former Rangers striker believes the striker should consider the switch.

“It'll be an opportunity to kickstart his career again in Scotland,” said McCoist. “He looks lost. He certainly looks unrecognisable to the Raheem Sterling that we knew back in the day at Liverpool and obviously Chelsea and things like that when he was firing on all cylinders. It seems like yesterday, the talk was of him getting back into Gareth Southgate’s [England] squad. But again, for whatever reason, I don't know what it is, lack of confidence or lack of form, he's dipped and he's going to have to do something.

“I don't care what they say, they're massive, massive clubs in Glasgow. If you can come up there and hit the ground running, then your status within the city and your status within the club will get you back pages again, where you want to be. You're under the spotlight here when you're up in Glasgow, and it's something I think he could handle fine. I think he could handle the football fine. But as I say, it's just how he wants to go about it. But he's going to have to get back playing somewhere soon.”

Sterling’s wage issue

While the player’s reported £300,000-a-week wages would be a clear problem with any move, the 63-year-old pundit thinks Sterling must prioritise playing regular football over financial gain in order to rediscover his form, with the forward unlikely to feature again for Chelsea this season.

“It's an interesting one,” McCoist told football betting site talkSPORT Bet. The one thing you have to say is, for Raheem Sterling, what does he want to do? I think the ball's in his court as well, as much as anything. You'd have to say his parent club would still shoulder the vast majority of his wages because there's absolutely no way that Celtic could compete or would want to pay that level of wage.

“He probably understands and realises he's not going to get that wage at another club. So, he's going to have to take a hit somewhere along the line. It's just how much he wants to take a hit and where he wants to take that hit. But that hit is going to have to be taken, no doubt about it.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.