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Having lost their best player last summer and with rumours of interest from the likes of Real Madrid for their best youngster throughout the autumn, tying down 20-year-old star Raheem Sterling to a new, long-term deal has been one of Liverpool’s top priorities for some time. Talk of the club trying to do just that kicked off last summer, but since then there has seemed little movement.
Brendan Rodgers believes that’s all about to change, as at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup tie with Bolton on the weekend, the Liverpool manager confirmed that the club are still working to sign Sterling to a new deal. More importantly, the manager believes that such a deal now is close to being done and that the player will commit his immediate future to the club in short order.
"Obviously the club are speaking with his representatives about it," said Rodgers when asked about the young attacker’s future. "I think that it’s going to be concluded imminently. Everyone can see he’s very happy here, so [the delay] has been nothing to do with young Raheem—he wants to be here—and we’re hopeful that we’ll get a solution on it very soon."
Sterling has already made 30 appearances for Liverpool this season, scoring seven times in total and adding six assists. With Daniel Sturridge missing most of the season through injury and Mario Balotelli failing to make a positive impact since signing with Liverpool over the summer, the young attacker has become Liverpool’s top threat and is near the top of any list of candidates for the club’s player of the season.
Hopefully, unlike in the summer where the club and its manager were similarly making noises about a new deal being imminent, this time around the signing of a deal that keep Sterling at Liverpool for the foreseeable future really is imminent
