Henry Jackson on Mar 19, 2015
According to Pearce, the Redsā chief reporter for the Liverpool Echo, the vast wages Sterlingās representatives are demanding will not be met ā but he still expects the young star to remain at Anfield.
āI donāt think Liverpool will give in to Ā£150,000 a week. Speaking to people at the club, itās clear they have no intention to pay him that much,ā said Pearce, on AnfieldIndexās āRedRoomā podcast this week.
āIām baffled as to how his representatives are turning their nose up at Ā£100,000 a week. Sterling is 20 years of age. Heās not a world-class player, and although heās potentially top class, heās not yet the finished product.
āI donāt believe that Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are waiting in the wings ready to swoop and pay him what he wants this summer.
āHe owes a lot to Brendan Rodgers for making him the player he is. Not many players of his age have played over 100 games for a top club, and if he has any sense he will stay and sign a five-year contract. I believe that will be the case, and that common sense will prevail.ā
Pearce also spoke about Jordan Hendersonās current contract talks, saying that despite a few complex issues, he firmly believes the vice-captain will sign on the dotted line sooner rather than later.
āItās a bit of an awkward stand-off at the moment because Ā£80,000 a week has been offered but Henderson wants over Ā£100,000 a week.
āA lot of it has to do with Henderson replacing Steven Gerrard as captain, with his representatives feeling he should be rewarded appropriately for becoming such a big player at the club.
āItās interesting how Brendan Rodgers has backtracked in recent weeks with regards to the captaincy, saying nothing is guaranteed. I think that is linked to the contract situation.
āHenderson has absolutely no intention of leaving though, and loves it at Liverpool. The situation will get sorted.ā
Sterlingās current contract expires in 2017, while Hendersonās expires next summer, 2016.
http://www.thisisanfield.com/2015/03/liverpool-wont-give-raheem-sterling-says-james-pearce/