Raheem Sterling to Coventry City? Frank Lampard can revive ex-Chelsea star at CBS Arena | OneFootball

Coventry City could attempt to lure Raheem Sterling to the CBS Arena this summer with a last-ditch career revival

Coventry City will be aiming to cement their place in the Premier League next season, having achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time in 25 years, and will be looking to add some experience and quality to their ranks.

A memorable season for Sky Blues supporters has been capped off by their club lifting the Championship title, as Frank Lampard's side romped to the top of the league, scoring the most and conceding the least across the campaign.

It ends a 25-year absence outside the top-flight, as Lampard and his squad are now etched in Coventry folklore; supporters will be hoping that this is merely the beginning, though.

A huge summer window beckons for the Sky Blues, who, whilst they certainly have a squad full of players capable of making the jump to the Premier League, will need to make the most of the next few months to ensure they are best prepared for the trials and tribulations of the top flight.

Lampard will be looking to make use of his countless connections from his ample time in the sport, and should look to reunite with a former England and Chelsea star, who was once spoken about as a potential Ballon d'Or winner.

Coventry City should plot a rescue move for former England sensation Raheem Sterling

Lampard's career in management hasn't exactly been a linear one, and the varying ability of players that he has worked with indicates just that.

He began his journey on the touchline with Derby County, with whom he lost out in the play-off final in 2019 to Aston Villa, and would then jump ship for former club Chelsea, where he spent one-and-a-half years, before one year with Everton, and then another couple of months with Chelsea once again.

He'd take the step down to the Championship once more in November 2024, replacing the long-serving Mark Robins to initial backlash, but has since vindicated Coventry chairman Doug King's decision with aplomb.

The 47-year-old will be eager to get stuck into the summer window, and may well be looking to reunite with some players he has worked with before, making the most of the existing relationships he has within the game.

One of those could be Raheem Sterling, who played ten times under Lampard during their brief stint together at Chelsea during the 2022/23 season, as well as getting on the pitch together once as teammates for England at the 2014 World Cup against Costa Rica.

At one stage, Sterling was rightfully considered one of the best, if not the best, wingers in the entire world during his time with Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, but now, at 31, his career has taken a stark spiral.

A £49 million deal took him to Manchester City in the summer of 2015 from Liverpool, where he would score 131 goals and grab 87 assists over 339 appearances for the Citizens across seven seasons in the North West.

He'd join Chelsea for £47.5 million in the summer of 2022 under Thomas Tuchel on a five-year deal worth a reported £325k per week, and, whilst his first couple of seasons didn't go appallingly, for a player who arrived with such a reputation and such huge money, he was always going to struggle to live up to the expectations placed upon him.

Sterling joined Arsenal on loan in 2024, but struggled to make an impact under Mikel Arteta, and a year in the peripheries back at Stamford Bridge saw his time contract mutually terminated last summer, and he is now playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with Feyenoord.

His downfall has since continued, with just one assist in eight appearances for the Rotterdam outfit, and he looks set to become a free agent once again.

The crux of his regression cannot be pinned on one thing, but still, at 31, whilst he may have lost a yard or so of pace, his quality remains undoubted, and he is surely more than capable of still doing a job in the Premier League.

With 123 goals and 75 assists across 396 appearances in the English top flight for each of Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal, form is temporary, and class is permanent, and Coventry could make use of his class.

Lampard should put an arm around the winger and provide him the platform to express himself at the highest level once more, as if he can reach the heights he has proven he is capable of, it'll be a win-win for all parties.

With Ephron Mason-Clark as competition, the former Peterborough United player would almost certainly relish having Sterling as a mentor and competition, as Lampard should look to get this deal done.

Frank Lampard should use his relationship with Raheem Sterling to lure the former Ballon d'Or nominee to Coventry City

An obvious factor that may hinder Sterling from making the move to Coventry would be the factor of his wage demands.

Though given how the past couple of seasons have panned out for the winger, he probably isn't in the strongest position to demand the wages he was earning.

Sterling has all the money in the world he could ever need, but now, he may feel as though he has one more point to prove, and could enjoy a renaissance with the Sky Blues.

If the former Ballon d'Or nominee can reach anywhere near the levels he has previously shown himself to be capable of, then Coventry should pounce at the opportunity to bring him to the CBS Arena and drastically boost their survival hopes.