£320,000 Weekly Wage! Sterling Plans to Stay at Chelsea First, Consider Departure in January Transfer Window

Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has rejected moves to leagues in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or the United States. He plans to stay at Chelsea for now and intends to consider leaving only when the January transfer window opens this season.

The 30-year-old English striker is unlikely to reintegrate into Chelsea's first team and will continue training with the so-called "Bomb Squad" at the Blues' Cobham training ground. Meanwhile, Chelsea failed to get him transferred out during this summer's transfer window, largely because Sterling wanted to join a London-based club.

Sterling still believes he can increase his number of appearances for the England national team and has no desire to move his family out of the capital, London. Although Fulham had some interest in him and West Ham United also considered his situation, neither club could reach a deal before the transfer deadline.

Sterling joined Arsenal on loan on the deadline day of last summer's transfer window, and his current contract has two years left before expiration. Notably, he is one of the highest-paid players at Chelsea, with a weekly wage of over £300,000—a figure that has become one of the main obstacles to his transfer. Over the past few months, several clubs have expressed interest in him and made inquiries, but no substantial progress was made due to issues such as salary, transfer fees, or the player's personal wishes.

While the summer transfer windows for Europe's top five leagues have all closed, the windows for some other countries/regions remain open. For example, the transfer window for the Turkish Super Lig remains open until September 12, and the Saudi League's window closes even later, continuing until September 23. However, Sterling currently has no interest in moving to play in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or the United States; he still hopes to stay in Europe's top-tier leagues to continue his career.