In the last few weeks, there was a cause for concern amongst Liverpool fans as reports emerged that Real Madrid had identified teenage star Raheem Sterling as a potential transfer target.
However, their manager Carlo Ancelotti quashed all the rumours linking Real Madrid with England international, “Sterling is a player of great quality, certainly one of the best in Europe. But we already have extraordinary talent here.
“To think of another striker for the Real Madrid attack is really extremely difficult. It’s clear that Sterling is not in our plans,” the Italian said.
The news will come as a relief for the Liverpool fans as their team has been heavily dependent on the 19-year old’s performances. Despite Ancelotti’s words, Liverpool will want to tie down Sterling to a new deal and talks are ongoing to offer him a new 5-year contract worth £100,000-a-week. The new contract will triple his wages which currently stands at £30,000-a-week.
According to the mirror, a Liverpool source said, “Talks with Raheem have progressed very well and we don’t see any problems arising from this point.
“There is no rush to get the contract signed, but we are now at a stage where we are talking weeks rather than months.”
Sterling has been in terrific form for Liverpool since December of last year and has become a key player for the reds in the absence of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. He has made 7 starts so far, involving directly in 5 goals (scoring 3 times and assisting twice in the process.) With the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, there was a lot of pressure on the youngster to deliver and he has done that until now.
Sterling will face the club with whom he was being linked next as Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The game will provide a good opportunity for Sterling and Liverpool to test themselves as they’ll be facing the current holders.