Manchester City’s Premier League rivals believe Raheem Sterling will be offloaded by manager Pep Guardiola once his new team takes shape.

There were conflicting stories last week over whether Sterling had been offered to Arsenal as part of City’s bid for Alexis Sanchez or whether the Gunners had asked for the winger as part of any deal.

City maintain that Sterling remains an integral part of Guardiola’s plans, with sporting director Txiki Begiristain apparently reinforcing that message personally.

But Telegraph Sport understands a number of the top Premier League clubs and managers are under the impression the 22-year-old is set to eventually become a casualty of the Spaniard’s spending.

Having already brought in Bernardo Silva and put more pressure on Sterling, Guardiola is expected to try again to sign Sanchez, either in January or next summer, and it would cast serious doubt on the future of the England international if he is successful.

Sterling was on Tuesday voted City’s Player of the Month for August after scoring two goals in the club’s opening three Premier League games.

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He started the game against Bournemouth, after coming off the bench in the first two matches, but is not available for Saturday’s clash with his former club Liverpool following his harsh red card for celebrating at the Vitality Stadium.

Sterling suffered a difficult few days with the England squad after being taken off at half-time in Malta and losing his place to Marcus Rashford for the Slovakia game.

Rashford’s goal means that Sterling now faces a fight to get back into the England team for the final World Cup qualifying games against Slovenia and Lithuania.

He will also be mindful of the fact that Southgate has warned the England players that failure to play for their clubs could impact on their international careers.

Southgate spoke with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain while the midfielder was deciding over a move to Chelsea or holding out for a switch to Liverpool.

It is believed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's decision to reject Chelsea was influenced by Gareth Southgate credit: getty images

The conversation has remained private, but it is believed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s decision to reject Chelsea was partly influenced by Southgate.

Realistically, it could only be a two-horse race between Arsenal and Chelsea if Sterling were made available by City in the next 12 months.

Arsenal could well enquire about Sterling again in the New Year if City make a new bid to try to sign Sanchez in the January transfer window.

City would not sell to Manchester United, while the player could not return to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur could not afford his transfer fee or wages.

Sterling joined City in a deal that could eventually be worth £49million in the summer of 2015 from Liverpool.

David Silva could have his contract extended credit: Getty images

Meanwhile, City are in talks about extending David Silva’s contract.

The Spain midfielder, 31, has just under two years to run on his existing deal but City want to extend his contract by a further 12 months.

Negotiations with Silva’s representatives have been ongoing since July and it is thought an agreement could be struck this month that would tie the playmaker – one of the greatest players in City’s history - to the club until June 2020, beyond his 34thbirthday.

Silva has talked about seeing out his career at boyhood club Las Palmas but if the player saw out a contract extension at City to 2020 it would mean him spending 10 years at the club he joined for £26 million from Valencia in 2010.