Raheem Sterling doomed to fail at Man City
By Chris Jones
How can a 20-year old live up to a £49 million transfer value? He can’t.
Multiple sources confirmed earlier on Sunday that the highly rated yet controversial England and Liverpool winger was heading from Liverpool to Manchester City.
It had long been rumored that Sterling would make the move to the Emirates, but Liverpool management tried to hold firm on their £50 million price. After two reported rejected offers, Man City has apparently got their man, but is the price tag too high?
Sterling has had multiple highly publicized disputes with the club, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, and the Anfield faithful. The latest feud came when Sterling missed the beginning of training after calling in sick twice, possibly to help push the move to Man City.
There have been many instances which have made the young winger unpopular. Many former Liverpool players have spoken out against Sterling. Even Liverpool legend and current Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard has taken issue with his antics.
“I’m not happy with all that carry-on. He needs to go in and see the owners,” Gerrard said in an interview with BBC Sport. “You don’t have to throw in illness, or refuse to go on tour. There are millions of Liverpool fans waiting to see Raheem pull on a Liverpool shirt.”
So can Raheem Sterling produce for Manchester City, appease the fans, and be worth the £50 million evaluation that has been placed on him? It is going to be incredibly tough.
Here are some figures to put the Raheem Sterling deal in perspective:
Sterling is the second most expensive British player in history, only sitting behind Gareth Bale, whose move to Real Madrid cost £85.3 million.
Alexis Sanchez, who was a sensation for Arsenal last season, scoring 24 goals across all competitions, came from FC Barcelona for only £35 million. Sterling only had 13 goals last season in all competitions.
The entire Arsenal 2003-2004 Invincibles, which include stars like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp, cost a grand total of £46.85 million.
It’s not Sterling’s fault that this massive valuation was placed upon him. There has been a premium placed on english players since the Premier League installed their “home grown program”, which requires clubs to have at least 8 non-home grown players for each league match. Since then, prices for english players have skyrocketed.
One of the biggest questions surrounding Sterling’s move is whether or not he will fit, or whether Man City really need him in their attack.
He will most likely be a replacement on the wing for James Milner, or an alternative to Jesus Navas, and his main objective will be to get balls in to star Man City striker Sergio Aguero.
The problem comes with the fact that Sterling will have to greatly improve on those aspects, as he is more of a dribbler than one that gets in passes and crosses. Sterling is only 20 years old, so those are areas that can be improved, but he is going to have to enter the team and come in ready to work, which has reportedly been a problem for the young winger.
To truly live up to his massive £49 million valuation, he is going to have to show positives not only on the field, but off the field as well.
Through the way that he carried himself through contract disputes at Liverpool, he made himself public enemy number one in regards to the Liverpool fan base, which is famous for standing behind their players. He is now entering the Man City setup already known for what happened at Liverpool, which will not make him popular with the fans. The £49 million price tag that came with him won’t really help his cause.
For Sterling, even though he is only at the ripe young age of 20, is at a major crossroads in his career. Will he carry on with the attitude that forced his move to Man City, or will he keep his head down, work, and contribute for Man City?
With the weight of a massive price tag on his back, it is going to be incredibly tough for him. It has almost set him up to fail before he has even touch the pitch.