Raheem Sterling will be left behind when Liverpool fly out
for Thailand, fuelling speculation that a move to Premier League rivals
Manchester City is imminent.
The wantaway England striker was on Saturday named in
Liverpool's 30-man squad for their tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia,
but fresh developments mean he will not board the plane on Sunday.
While there is no deal in place, talks are sufficiently advanced
that Sterling will stay behind to see if a transfer can be completed.
Various reports in the British media suggest City are close
to securing Sterling after having a STG40 million ($A82.6 million) offer for
the unsettled 20-year-old rejected by Anfield last week.
It is believed that only an astronomical offer of at least
STG50 million ($A103.25 million) could persuade Liverpool to consider letting
the gifted youngster leave.
Sterling's refusal to commit to Liverpool has angered the
club's supporters, who jeered him at an end of season awards dinner.
Manager Brendan Rodgers's relationship with Sterling cooled
considerably when the player turned down a lucrative new contract worth
STG100,000 ($A206,500) per week in January this year.
Even former Liverpool playing legend Steven Gerrard weighed
in on Friday.
"It looks very disappointing from where I'm sat. The
fans have shown him great support, they want him to stay and I believe that he
should too," Gerrard told Sky Sports from Los Angeles where he made his
debut for LA Galaxy on Saturday.
On Friday Sterling returned to training after a two-day
hiatus when he'd claimed to be ill.
"I'm not happy with all that carry-on. He needs to go
in and see the owners. You don't have to throw in illness, or refuse to go on
tour," said Gerrard.
0 comments:
Post a Comment