Liverpool need to hold onto Sterling to avoid mid-table return

By on April 3, 2015

Raheem Sterling was happy and content — thrilled, even — to stay at Anfield not a year ago. The Reds had just finished their best season in five years, finishing second in the league and challenging for the title, a feat which they have yet to achieve in the Premier League era. It was then Sterling gave an interview to the Guardian, saying: “I think I can achieve the goals I want to achieve at Liverpool in years to come. I am happy here, and hopefully I will be at this club for many years. Just like some of the big names on the wall.”

Luis Suarez had already left the club to join Barcelona, so Sterling knew then that the season ahead could be tougher. As much as Liverpool’s pride might have been bruised in seeing their star player land his “dream” move elsewhere, very few clubs in the world, and perhaps not a single English team at the moment, could hold onto players when Barcelona come ringing with a promise of a starting position.

On the whole, Sterling was visibly thrilled to be set to star for his boyhood club for yet another season. However, Liverpool’s fortunes quickly declined as they struggled for goals, and often while Daniel Sturridge was injured, Sterling was the club’s only forward. As Liverpool fell and Sterling’s stock rose, we’ve now reached a point where some argue that Sterling has outgrown the club, while the player himself is reportedly telling them to cough up more dough to keep him. Furthermore, he has plenty of suitors lining up at the door.

Barcelona is one thing; Arsenal is another. Liverpool’s season hasn’t been drastically poor, but with hopes of Champions League football narrowing somewhat, Sterling has now been linked with a move to the Emirates. Directly in competition with Liverpool for a Champions League position, it would be a heavy blow to Brendan Rodgers’ to lose his biggest future talent.

From Liverpool’s point of few, the problem is they aren’t in a position of power. Their future largely revolves around Sterling, and even with the player, the club cannot claim to promise consistent Champions League qualification. Yet the importance of Sturridge is such that the perceived efforts to keep hold of the player will speak volumes about the club’s near-term ambitions.

If they allow Sterling go to Arsenal, Liverpool potentially risk their status as a member of the big six, especially in a year when they will also lose Steven Gerrard. Despite their history and committed support, selling their best youth product to a major rival would be a highly risky move, given how challenging it can be to find compelling replacements in the transfer market.

And if this debacle is about money — if Arsenal will be able to offer a deal sufficiently more lucrative such that Sterling would choose a lateral move to Arsenal — then the battle may already be lost. If Fenway Sports Group won’t put in the funds to act like a “big club,” then they are writing their own fate.

Photo credit: Kamran Hussain on Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.