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LFC must act now & offer big contract to 17 year old prodigy

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FOR once, I was really pleased to read a tweet from a Liverpool player this week. It was great to see Raheem Sterling come out fighting and reject the Daily Mail’s latest untruth. The ever so slightly melodramatic newspaper had alleged that the 17 year old wanted the princely sum of £50,000 per week in order to extend his Liverpool contract.

Realistically, I don’t know what Sterling wants. That’s between him, his agent and the club.

But I know a talent when I see one, and I believe that it is essential that we tie this young man down to a long term future with us. Because if we don’t, somebody else will. This lad is going to play for England many times, and I am very optimistic he will go on to play even more games for Liverpool.

As time goes by, more and more people are starting to sit up and take note of Sterling. His rise to the first team squad hasn’t been what you’d call meteoric. I personally thought it would be quite obvious that he would get called into the first team squad sooner rather than later when Dalglish was made manager. Having already brought through Jack Robinson and Jon Flanagan (admittedly more through necessity than immediate desire) and being a regular at the Academy, Dalglish knew exactly what sort of a talent he had on his hands.

One of the most devastating individual performances I’ve ever seen from a youth team player was from Sterling when he tore Southend apart, scoring 5 goals in a 9-0 victory. Direct pace, skill, trickery and clinical finishing.

Making his debut against Wigan at Anfield in March, Sterling was identified by new manager Brendan Rodgers this summer as someone who may be available for loan. How times change. Sterling is now a starter week in, week out. Not very many 17 year old players have managed that in the Premier League. He brings something we don’t have a lot of – that dynamic burst of pace and that high octane speed that can get us on the front foot very quickly. He’s ideal to play in that front three that Rodgers wants to use because he can be utilised in all three positions.
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I literally have no concerns about giving Raheem a new deal. It’s a very important contract, because if he kicks on as we all expect him to, we will be fending offers away left right and centre if we don’t pick up ourselves. If he isn’t as good as we think then we might have a player on wages unbecoming of his squad status. I can name a few players like that *cough* Joe Cole *cough cough*! But from what I’ve seen so far Sterling has the world at his feet. He just needs to improve his decision making and his final ball.

But he’s 17, he’s still just a kid. And kids will make mistakes. At the end of the day his exposure to football at this level cannot be a bad thing. By the time he turns 18, barring any setbacks such as injuries, he is going to have close to 30 games under his belt in the first team. That is a huge number of games for someone that age.

The old adage is “if you’re old enough, you’re good enough.” I had no qualms about Sterling’s rise to the first team squad to now a starter. I have no qualms about putting him on higher money. It’s players like this that FSG want at the club. Sterling is hard working, committed, talented, skilful and a pocket rocket for us to have on the counter attack. We can all see that the raw talent is there, he just needs work. And he is playing with some top footballers. Get his new contract sorted and let the lad run loose, because it will be exciting to watch.
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I'm a fully trained journalist who shunned a career in the profession due to my disillusionment with the tabloid press, instead hoping to become a professional author. I've written for The Liverpool Way for 7 years and am a regular on the forum using the name Agt Provocateur.

A passionate member of supporter group Kop Faithful, I've been a season ticket holder of 8 years and a regular match goer since 1995.

When not criticising diminishing refereeing standards in football, I can be found at Langtree Park, the home of St Helens Rugby League Club being highly critical of non existent standards of refereeing in Rugby League. I'm is also a massive Lancashire and England cricket fan.

23 comments

  • SuaRed says:

    £ 20k a week for a 17 year old is easily good enough!

  • marco says:

    i get the feeling that sterling , while saying the right things , will have his eyes on a move in the summer

    what will city / chelsea offer ?

    if we are serious about keeping him , then 100,000k a week offer must be made NOW

    • Red says:

      NOPE, 300k for English premium

    • J757 says:

      £100k NOW???? Really?????How much are we going to have to pay him when he is older? £200k or my be £500K a week!!!!!!
      By then the club won’t be able to afford to keep him and he will definitely be sold!!
      How much will we have to pay Sinclair and Ibe when they play?
      You would bankrupt the club!

      • marco says:

        wages are ridiculous , no hiding from that . however if you want top players u must pay top wages . if not we will lose any good talent . if you wont pay top wages then you might as well give up trying to be successful and be content beind a stable mid table team

        • J757 says:

          Club owners are clamping down on big wages no need to pay Sterling more then what we need to! Can’t see even Man City or Chelsea being prepared to give a 17 year old more then £20k a week.

        • J757 says:

          When Suarez signed he was on £45k a week and earnt his new contract! I don’t think you quite understand money or how players earn their wages and contracts in football.

      • marco says:

        i dont think you understand life . there will be teams offering him a fortune , probably more than 100k . if he signs they already have a player with a sale value of 15-20 million right now . dont be so naive

        • J757 says:

          Suso next wanting £100k a wek Ibe,Sinclair orsdom wanting 50k a week where will it stop ?
          Your the one that’s naive talking about paying teenagers wages that Gerrard has only just started to earn!

  • David Tyrer says:

    While I agree that offering him an impressive and lucrative contract right now is a must, I think giving him too much would be a the worst possible thing.

    Somebody above suggested giving him 100k a week, if we’re serious about having him stay but really, if the allure of playing for Liverpool (still, one of the two biggest clubs in the country) isn’t enough, then let him go, he isn’t here for the club.

    But if he’s offered around 15-20000 a week – at 17, no less – I can’t see why that wouldn’t be enough for someone so young. He’ll be offered another one for 5 times that by the time he’s 20 (provided he keeps up his performances) and offering him anymore would set an awful precedent for other young players.

    I really think some kind of seminar on what ‘normal’ people have to do to earn close to 20,000 per YEAR would really open the eyes of some of these kids that turn their noses up at massive contracts. Not saying he has, but we’ve heard it all before.

    Anyway, I hope he signs, just not with us bent over a barrel, asking him to take us for all we’re worth, out of fear of losing him.

    • marco says:

      look he is going to have sly phone calls right now and every week til he signs , from rich clubs promising 100,000k plus every week . offering 20000 is silly . what would u do at that age ? 20k or 100k ? what would the parents say ? take the money thats what !

      this is not the time for FSG to continue being cheapskates . how many millions might he be sold for in a few years ?

      it comes down to this . spend big to be a big club or be like everton

      • Shibashis says:

        Let him go then and cash in. Offering 100k to a kid is RIDICULOUS. What happened to the notion of earning your money?
        He is a kid who should have his foot on the ground, should play for the shirt and aim high. He will gain a lot of respect if he does this right, I hope he does.

        • marco says:

          all notions of earning ur money disappeared from football over 20 years ago

          there is no point living in the past . football has moved on

          we cant cash in , his contract is up at end of season ,dont give ur opinions unless u know what you are talking about

      • Esky says:

        Ummm Everton are top 4. Moyes is shrewd with his purchases. I want to see the Reds back in CL. king Kenny threw big money around and didn’t get him there. Ain’t no way FSG will pay 100k not even realistic..

        • Francis says:

          everton aren’t top 4 at end of season . never are . FSG better pay whats needed or p**s off , they are ruining our club

  • Shibashis says:

    @marco
    Alright so I got that wrong, we can not cash in. I am not sure how that mistake warrants a hostile reaction from you.
    I do not live in the past, I just think it is wrong and no amount of ‘present day scenario’ lecture is going to convince me otherwise.

    • marco says:

      it is wrong , very wrong ,but thats the way it is now

      • J757 says:

        Did you hear about todays meeting with the Premier League clubs wanting to introduce Financial Fair Play regulations like the ones introduced by Uefa?
        Club owners want to clamp down on huge wages.

  • wesker says:

    With a spendthrift tight owner and a clueless manager , Sterling cant wait to leg it end of season

  • scott says:

    Act NOW or regret later

Comments are closed.