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Raheem Sterling finally gets his wish as Liverpool FC agree a deal for the player with Manchester City. The Manchester side will acquire the services of the player for A?49m.
Liverpool ECHO report: The 20-year-old has been given permission to speak to the Etihad club and will complete the transfer subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms. No hitches are anticipated and Sterling is likely to be confirmed as a City player in the next 24 hours. It is understood the deal that has been struck is worth a total of A?49m, including performance-related add-ons.
This is a record transfer between two Premier League clubs for an English player. And Sterling has now become the 12th most expensive footballer in the history of professional football.
Manchester City have had bids totalling A?35m and A?40m rejected by the Reds, who have said that the Citizens need to match their A?50m valuation of the player.
Not to be missed, around A?8m of the fee will go to QPR under the terms of the deal.
The 20-year-old was under contract until 2017, and Liverpool wanted to secure his services for the longer run. He was offered a new A?100,000-a-week deal mid-season, but it was rejected by the player. Sterlinga s wages at the Eithad are said to be around A?200,000 a week.
Recently, he asked to be left out of the pre-season tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia, but was anyway named on a 30-man list on Saturday by the club. He also missed two days of training citing illness. However, his name was pulled out earlier today as Liverpool finally opened talks regarding a move.
For Manchester City, this is a sign of intent as they’ve got one of Europe’s best youngster and if the player is developed ideally, he could prove to be a bargain in the long run. Manuel Pellegrini needed fresh blood for the new season and in Sterling, he has got that.
Will he however, prove to be a David Silva for the club, or will he do a Scott Sinclair, only time will tell.