Ex-Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given says that he does hold concerns about his former club sanctioning the sale of Raheem Sterling to Chelsea.

Pep Guardiola’s side could raise as much as £50m from the deal and, while it’s a good amount of money for a player who is in the last year of his contract, Given says there is a risk that it could backfire:

“Will he come back and bite Pep, maybe? That’s the thing from a City point of view, do you think he will come back and score a goal towards the end of the season that wins the league for Chelsea. He’s a top player, but with 12 months left £50million is still a lot of money. With the Financial Fair Play, City have to balance the books and they are still trying to bring in players as well. It might fit well for both clubs.”

City don’t generally allow players to run down their contracts, and Sterling has reportedly said that he wants to leave the Etihad, so the Premier League champions do have a difficult choice to make.

To get the sort of fee they want for Sterling this summer, they would have to sell to a domestic rival, as teams abroad simply don’t have the funds to match their valuation.

With Chelsea also interested in Nathan Ake and Oleksandr Zinchenko, though, it will be interesting to see if the Citizens do allow more players to leave for Stamford Bridge.