Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that midfielder Raheem Sterling will not be leaving Liverpool on loan as has been suggested by many reports.
Speaking after the Reds 2-0 victory over Oldham in the FA Cup, Rodgers said, “I don’t know where it has come from. I don’t think you let a player who’s in your team and playing exceptionally well go on loan.
“It must have been one of the media guys whose entry checked four or five months later. I think it must have been in the entry for four or five months and he hasn’t looked at it and he’s just picked it up and put it in the paper.
“He (Raheem) was excellent today. His strength and pace was frightening today so no he won’t be going anywhere.”
There is no doubt that Sterling has been in fine form of late and Rodgers really has a lot of confidence in the 19-year old as he asked started Liverpool’s last nine games.
It was being rumoured that if Liverpool sign an experienced winger in January then Sterling would be allowed to leave on loan in a bid to gain regular first team football. It is great that Sterling is getting a run in the Liverpool side right now and this has benefited his game. One area Raheem still needs to work hard on is his finishing. He gets into many great positions but he fails to find the back of the net or even test the keeper. One may say that his finishing abilities will get better with time and that it is great he is getting into those positions now.
My fear is, what will happen to Sterling when Daniel Sturridge is fit again? Surely Sturridge will start ahead of Sterling and that could mean Raheem is relegated back to the bench for the rest of the season. Or, what if Liverpool do decide to bring in another winger this January?
There has been a lot of talk linking Liverpool with a move for Basel’s Egyptian wide-man Mohammed Salah. If Salah does join Liverpool in January then surely he would go above Sterling in the pecking order? What Liverpool need now and for the future is great squad depth and a player like Sterling can provide that. Now we know that if Sturridge is out injured, Sterling can come in for him. I would also suspect that if Sturridge is fit and Suarez is not available then Sterling can also be called upon to play with Sturridge. And then if a player like Salah joins Liverpool, Rodgers has the options of playing Salah and Sterling on the wings and that would be a scary prospect for opposition defenders.
We need more players. May the best of Sterling, Sturridge, Salah, Tello whoever play!