Former Netherlands international Rene van der Gijp has taken aim at Raheem Sterling after his latest poor showing for Feyenoord, advising the forward to hang up his boots and ‘just go to Ibiza’.

Sterling ended his stay with Chelsea by mutual agreement at the end of January and went on to sign for Feyenoord as a free agent, despite reported interest from the likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

The 31-year-old failed to play a single minute for Chelsea in the first of the campaign after returning from an underwhelming loan spell with Arsenal and sought a move overseas in the hope of resurrecting his career.

But Sterling, once considered among the finest attacking talents in English football, has flattered to deceive for the most part in his first five appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie.

An assist in Feyenoord’s comeback victory over Excelsior remains Sterling’s only direct goal contribution for his new side – something the four-time Premier League winner will look to improve after the international break.

Sterling was especially unconvincing against Ajax last weekend and Feyenoord head coach Robin van Persie had seen enough by the 55th minute, hauling the winger off for Leo Sauer as his side searched for an equaliser.

That leveller duly arrived late on as Jakub Moder struck from the penalty spot to cancel out Sean Steur’s opener and second-placed Feyenoord in the end had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Discussing Sterling’s less-than-impressive display in Rotterdam, ex-PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands winger Van der Gijp said on the Willem & Wessel podcast: ‘He should just go to Robin van Persie and say: let’s stop this. This isn’t going to work.

‘This isn’t good for me, for you, or for the club. You’re not really helping anyone with this.

‘He should just go to Ibiza, put on his swimming trunks, and eat a delicious paella with his wife.

‘Then he’d be having a great time. But this isn’t going to work out for him anymore. What a shame.’

Van der Gijp’s fellow podcaster, Willem van Hanegem agreed that Sterling appeared well past his best and Feyenoord may be better off simply cutting their losses.

‘He just wasn’t there again, no. If I were them, I would ask for my money back and say: just go home,’ the former Feyenoord and Netherlands midfielder argued.

‘You shouldn’t put a player like that through. He used to be a good player; he was still fit and fast, but that’s about it. If he bumps into you, he falls over. Isn’t that crazy?

‘You shouldn’t do that yourself as a player either. If he lacks speed and has the ball, they just walk right over him. That’s pointless.’

Despite Sterling’s apparent struggles, Van Hanegem doesn’t expect the England international to be dropped for Feyenoord’s next match against FC Volendam.

‘We aren’t waiting for that because we’ve already said six times that he isn’t good enough,’ he added.

‘I don’t think it’s just us, but a whole lot of people.’

After Feyenoord’s draw with Ajax, Van Persie admitted he was keen to see Sterling make more of an ‘impact’ both in and out of possession.

‘The most important thing is winning matches during this period of Raheem getting fitter and fitter,’ the ex-Arsenal, Manchester United and Netherlands striker told reporters shortly after the final whistle.

‘I do respect and acknowledge where he is coming from, but at the same time we have to deliver as a club. We have to end up second, it’s as simple as that.

‘I believe he’s making steps in terms of fitness, in terms of what he delivers.

‘At the same time, I want to see more impact off the ball, more impact on the ball.’

Sterling’s contract with Feyenoord runs through to the end of the season.

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Raheem Sterling endured a difficult debut for Feyenoord, with many on social media quick to criticise the former Manchester City winger’s display

Jack Grealish has lashed out at the social media abuse directed at former Manchester City team-mate Raheem Sterling after the forward’s challenging debut for Feyenoord.

Sterling, 31, made his first outing of the campaign for Robin van Persie’s team, but found it difficult to make an impact against Eredivisie outfit Telstar. Van Persie acknowledged he wasn’t entirely taken aback by the former Chelsea attacker’s subdued first appearance, considering the ex-England international had been training alone for months in west London.

However, this didn’t prevent numerous social media users from condemning Sterling’s performance. One message even proposed the former Liverpool academy graduate should hang up his boots.

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Upon seeing this comment, Grealish, who was Sterling’s teammate for both City and the Three Lions, couldn’t hide his frustration at the remarks being aimed at Sterling.

Responding to the post criticising Sterling on Instagram, Grealish wrote: “What a f***ing stupid Instagram post. Man, what’s wrong with you guys? [The] Guy hasn’t played or trained for so long. People like you guys are what’s wrong with the world. Have some respect.”

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Due to Sterling’s work permit for the Netherlands initially being rejected, Van Persie relocated Feyenoord’s training session to Belgium to help the player settle into the squad. He subsequently came on as a substitute in Feyenoord’s 2-1 win, with Anis Hadj-Moussa netting twice.

After the match, Sterling commented: “Haven’t played in little bit, but just trying to keep fit. Been with the team now for a little bit, so it’s just all on building a step at a time and trying to get to match fitness. Good to start your first game with a win, think that’s the most important. [With] the targets that we’re chasing, so a good debut.”

Prior to kick-off, Van Persie acknowledged it would take considerable time for Sterling to reach peak match sharpness. The former Arsenal and Manchester United striker explained: “Raheem trained last Tuesday, for the first time with the group. That was his first time in a group in several months. When you see the choices he makes in small moments, how quickly he thinks and switches, you see that other players also see it and respond to it. That’s how it works.

“You also want to show each other that you’re good too. That was evident in those training sessions. In my opinion, he’s a player of exceptional quality. He showed that in those training sessions. I enjoyed seeing that, and so did his teammates.

“How match-fit are you after not playing for six months? It depends on how he gets through tomorrow. That looks positive. But we have to be careful with him. We’ll talk to Raheem about that. He needs some time to be able to play 90 minutes.

“That won’t be Sunday and it won’t be next week either. But we’ll try to get there as soon as possible. We’ll do it our way, as quickly as possible, but responsibly and calmly.”

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