So it looks like Raheem Sterling is about to get his wish and leave Liverpool for Manchester City.

A £49m deal has been agreed between the two English Premier League sides.

The way in which the twenty year old forward and his agent have engineered this move has been rather unpleasant to say the least. Both should seek out a dictionary and read up on words like respect and gratitude.

Now at the end of the day, Sterling wanted a new challenge and clearly didn’t feel Liverpool could offer him enough as a footballer.

That is his prerogative and he will have to live with his decisions.

I don’t feel too much sympathy for Liverpool. Yes they weren’t treated with due respect but had Sterling came through their academy and was judged wanting then he would have been released without much thought. The same happens each summer at Melwood to plenty of average young footballers.

Football truly is a business rather than a sport these days.

Sterling will make a huge amount of money with his move to Manchester and will probably challenge for more silverware too. My only gripe with the whole transfer saga centres around the unprofessionalism that came from the attacker and his advisor.

Only time will tell if he gets more game time at the Etihad but that is just one of many challenges that Raheem now has to rise  to.

Really at £49m and after the fuss that has ensued this summer, Sterling now has to step up and prove he can influence the big Premier League encounters.

We can’t deny he has vast talent but England international will need to show it with more regularity at Man City.

People will tell him to forget the transfer fee but that is ridiculous, how can you forget £49m or the large wage packet that goes with it?

Being the most expensive English footballer will bring a special kind of limelight, a very bright one that will burn you if you start to slump in any way.

At City he will have to fight tooth and nail to start every week. Players like David Silva, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas won’t just sit back and allow a young starlet to take their place in the team without a fight.

Man City’s demand for silverware means that a decline in form means that you step out of the team no matter your transfer fee. Just ask Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, James Milner, Stevan Jovetic, Eliaquim Mangala and Alvaro Negredo who have all seen more action from the bench than they’d have expected when they signed for the club.

Last season Sterling impressed in chunks. He managed to bag seven goals and seven assists, not bad but also not world-class.

He’s not the finished article but potential can’t always be fulfilled, again Mario Balotelli’s name springs to mind.

Raheem will also have to deal with quite obvious comparisons between himself and Liverpool’s new signing Roberto Firmino. Ultimately Sterling has to prove that he is the better player and more productive!

Huge expectations now lie on young Raheem Sterling’s shoulders. I am sure Man City, manager Manuel Pellegrini and the City fans will back him and support him but alas it will be up to the player himself to show that he’s worth all the hassle and money.

Going by the past few months his attitude seems suspect and it’s debatable what drives him money or footballing success.

At Manchester City he’ll definitely earn the cash but he also has the chance to win people round with some scintillating performances.

All he can do now is deal with the pressure and show the world that his new employers were right to splash out £49m for his services.

Posted on July 13th, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article