Liverpool FC starlet Raheem Sterling has casted doubt over his Anfield future by shelving contract talks until the summer. The 20 year old England international is said to want to focus on his football and not get distracted due to contract talks.
The Daily Mail report: Sterling has been locked in talks over a contract extension for several months but the 20-year-old has told club officials he wants to focus on the remainder of Liverpoola s Premier League season and on winning the FA Cup.
Sterling’s contract expires in 2017 but Liverpool are keen to extend that along with offering the emerging star a significant increase on his existing A?35,000 weekly wages. Wages have repeatedly been cited as the stumbling block of the negotiations and the player’s representatives have reportedly rejected a A?95,000-per-week deal.
The Daily Express report: The Liverpool starlet’s representative, Aidy Ward, met with Anfield officials to discuss the offer of an extension to Sterling’s current deal which expires in 2017. Liverpool opened negotiations in October, but have yet to find any common ground with the England youngster who had been offered a A?90,000-a-week deal.
The player revealed about three weeks back that he was happy at Anfield and wanted to sign the new deal with the club. He said, “We’re working on it and hopefully it will be sorted soon”.
Brendan Rodgers said back in February, that the club had offered Sterling an incredible deal but also maintained that Liverpool will not “go out of their way” for any player if they don’t think he is worth what is being demanded.
a What the club has offered is an incredible deal for a young player. I have spoken to Raheem a number of times. He is very happy here and you see that in his game. What he has been granted at this football club is an opportunity. We see that with lots of young players they are getting the opportunity to play here and they get rewarded for that,” said Rodgers
a But we are certainly not a club that is going to give out way, way above what a player is worth at a certain time of his career. It is not a case of giving any player, and I am talking generally here rather than just Raheem, what they want. We want to reward our best talents, they are a big part of our future and we are confident that will all be in hand and resolved soon.a
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have been linked with the youngster repeatedly, especially the former. Recently, Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City have also been linked with the player and the Reds will definitely be sweating over his future at the moment. The Reds would certainly be wary of such interest but it is believed that the 20 year old will sign a new deal with Liverpool over the summer and that change in his own representatives is one of the reasons an extension can’t be secured with efficiency.