Why West Ham didn't try to sign Raheem Sterling

During the first match day of the Premier League, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca revealed that several star players such as Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are not in his plans for this season and the Blues want to sell them in this transfer window. This attracted transfer interest from top Premier League teams who were trying to sign Raheem Sterling from Chelsea this summer. Meanwhile, there were reports suggesting that the 29-year-old would prefer to stay in London, with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs and West Ham, becoming huge favourites to secure the signature of the four time Premier League winner.

In 549 matches playing for the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, Sterling has scored 173 goals and has provided 103 assists in his playing career. Also, the 29-year-old forward has scored twenty goals for the England national team as well, becoming one of the best versatile wingers in England. Now, Sterling has joined Arsenal on a season long loan transfer move from Chelsea on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Why West Ham didn't try to sign Raheem Sterling

This poses the question as why West Ham didn't try to sign Sterling from Chelsea. Now, according to The Independent,

"Both West Ham United and Crystal Palace had turned down the chance to sign him. One concern expressed within the Premier League was that, because Sterling has played so much football since the age of 17, his physical age is now much older than 29."

- The Independent

It is true that Sterling has been playing in the Premier League since 2012, when he came through the youth ranks at Liverpool and made his first team debut. After that, he spent seven years at Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and also played at Chelsea, but Sterling can still give top performances in the English top flight for another few seasons. Moreover, Arsenal signed him on a season long loan rather than a permanent transfer, therefore, West Ham could have tried to bring him to the London Stadium on a loan move to bolster their squad depth.

However, another reason for not signing the former Manchester City star is that Julen Lopetegui's side have a lot of competition and quality in their attack. Sterling will play for Arsenal this season and it remains to be seen whether West Ham made the right decision to not sign Sterling in this transfer window.