Sterling's Aston Villa shirt number, but there's a catch as 'dream' blocked

Discarded Raheem Sterling may face early disappointment at Aston Villa if the England winger does leave Chelsea for Birmingham.

Discussions have taken place between the Blues and Villa over the transfer of Sterling, who has been deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. The 29-year-old still has three years remaining on his current contract, but a deal is there to be made if Villa can stump up the necessary funds.

Unai Emery is in need of a new forward after selling Moussa Diaby and missing out on Chelsea's latest recruit, Joao Felix. However, Birmingham Live reported they won't be able to offer Sterling any of his preferred shirt numbers based on the current squad.

Sterling has mainly worn the No. 7 for most of his senior career, first following his £49million move to Manchester City in 2015. He previously wore the No. 31 when he broke into Liverpool's first team, having mostly played with the No. 11 (and one season as No. 7) in their reserves.

All three of those numbers are currently taken at Villa by key first-team players John McGinn, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins. When he joined Chelsea from City in 2022, Sterling found himself in a similar situation and chose the closest available option to seven, the No. 17, for his first year in west London.

He then claimed it as his own last season following N'Golo Kante's departure for Saudi Arabia. However, the No. 17 at Villa Park is currently occupied by Samuel Iling-Junior, who joined the club from Juventus for £11.8m plus potential add-ons in July.

After being left out of Emery's squad for the 2-1 victory over West Ham on the season's opening weekend, The Athletic reported Iling-Junior is reportedly considering loan options. His departure isn't certain, with the report stating he'll only leave if the right opportunity arises.

Islington-born Iling-Junior arrived in Birmingham to plenty of excitement regarding his future potential. However, many Villa fans would likely prefer a Premier League-proven asset like Sterling in his place for this season.

However, this could pave the way for Sterling to claim one of his preferred numbers, or it might be taken away from Iling-Junior regardless. The situation surrounding the Blues misfit continues to develop, with the latest news indicating he has no desire to follow Diaby to the Saudi Pro League.