Premier League Notebook Heading into Week 31

Where do you stand on the Raheem Sterling situation? As the Premier League returns after the international break for its exciting conclusion, the spotlight has been stolen away by a 20-year-old and his supposed contract demands.

Everywhere you look, there is a different story on Sterling and a different figure he has supposedly turned down as Liverpool attempt to extend a contract that doesn't expire until the summer of 2017. The consensus is that the latest deal on offer to him was worth at least £100,000 a week—which would perhaps make Sterling the highest-paid player of his age in the world—but bigger sums have been mentioned in some quarters and bigger demands still attributed to him and his advisors.

The speculation has intensified so much that Sterling felt compelled to speak publicly on the issue.

"It's not about the money at all," Sterling told BBC Sport's Natalie Pirks. "It's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That's all I talk about.

"I don't talk about how many cars I'm going to drive, how many houses I've got. I just purely want to be the best I can be.

"I don't want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old."

Whatever the intent, it does not seem the interview has helped Sterling's case too much. His manager, Brendan Rodgers, seemed unhappy with the comments, revealing that the player had not been authorised to give the interview.

The public reaction, as it always is in such cases, has been less than sympathetic. It is the effect on the Liverpool hierarchy that is most important, however; at this delicate stage in the talks, the last thing that is needed is a souring of the relationship on both sides.

Rodgers said, per BBC Sport:

"

Concentration should be on his football. If his ambition is to win trophies that's aligned with what we do here.

There was no permission from us [to do the interview]. He will learn. We all make mistakes in life, especially when we are young.

I think the kid has tried to put off all talk about contract and money. For now hopefully the focus will be on football.

"

That is the key, with both parties publicly saying that they will leave negotiations until the summer, when Liverpool's Champions League (and FA Cup) fate will have been decided. Perhaps if the Reds lift the trophy at Wembley and finish in the top four, Sterling's desire for silverware might be sated and a new deal will be signed with minimal fuss.

Until that point, however, the talk about possible destinations is going to remain rife. Arsenal have been credited with an interest, and Sterling acknowledged to the BBC that their reported interest was "quite flattering."

"Raheem Sterling is a top player, everybody in the country knows that now," Arsene Wenger said, per his club's official website, ahead of Saturday's meeting between the two teams. "He is a very important player for Liverpool of course." He continued:

"

I don't want to interfere in [reports about Sterling's future], especially 48 hours before the game. That's down to Liverpool, I don't want to interfere in that. It's not my problem. I do not want to speak about any move. We are not in a transfer period, we are in front of a big game. I respect Liverpool and I do not want to go into any supposed move for any of their players.

"

Many will wonder if moving to Arsenal would really be an upgrade on Liverpool, but it is worth remembering that Sterling was raised in London, and a return to the capital might be as attractive to him as the club he would be joining. Liverpool like to claim him as a home-grown product, but the truth is his talent was evident when they lured him away from Queens Park Rangers for an initial £600,000 back in 2010.

We like to assume academy graduates always hold a greater affection for the club they have developed at, but that might not be true of Sterling. If anything, his move to Merseyside was perhaps the first example of him being something of a mercenary.

Indeed, perhaps that initial signing created the situation Liverpool now found themselves in—after paying top dollar to bring him to the club, they created a precedent they are now struggling to live up to. A £35,000-a-week contract when he was still a teenager was a lucrative but deserved reward for his breakthrough, so now that he is an established first-teamer, is it any real surprise that he wants his salary to reflect that?

Throw in the increasing wealth of all Premier League clubs thanks to bigger and bigger television deals, another of which kicks in soon enough, and perhaps Sterling believes that £150,000 a week, while a big sum right now, might not be the going rate for a player of his ilk by the time he is into the second or third year of his extension.

Fans might sympathise with Liverpool's situation, but you do not reject a £100,000-a-week contract offer unless you are very confident that you will get a bigger deal eventually. Home grown and hugely talented, Sterling will be coveted by a number of clubs should he become available, and there will be clubs that will almost allow him to name his price when it comes to the salary.

Waiting until the end of the season is sensible, but it is Sterling who benefits more the longer things drag on—especially if he can keep up his performances on the pitch in the meantime.

---

Week 31 Fixtures

All games 3 p.m. BST (10 a.m. ET) unless otherwise stated.

Saturday

Arsenal vs. Liverpool (12:45 p.m.)
Everton vs. Southampton
Leicester City vs. West Ham United
Manchester United vs. Aston Villa
Swansea City vs. Hull City
West Bromwich Albion vs. QPR

Sunday

Burnley vs. Tottenham Hotspur (1:30 p.m.)
Sunderland vs. Newcastle United (4 p.m.)

Monday

Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City (8 p.m.)

---

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

1. What to Watch out for This Week

He Who Hesitates Is Relegated

For much of the season it looked like a game that would be a relegation six-pointer, but as it turns out, West Bromwich Albion have little riding on Saturday's meeting with Queens Park Rangers. Safety is effectively assured for the Baggies, with the mid-season managerial switch from Alan Irvine to Tony Pulis proving to be an astute decision from the board.

It was surely an expensive one—Irvine's pay-off along with the bonuses Pulis will earn for keeping the club up will surely run into the mid-seven figures—but that pales into insignificance when compared to the money that will be earned from staying in the Premier League.

If only QPR, whose squad is broadly similar in quality to West Brom's, had acted. Perhaps they would have been able to lure Pulis and be the ones now starting to plan for next season.

As it is, the board decided to stick with Harry Redknapp, and their eventual parting of ways at the start of February was more bizarre than anything else. With Pulis, among others, already appointed elsewhere, the club were left to promote from within, but Chris Ramsey has yet to have the desired impact.

QPR could yet stay up, but they will need to start by getting something from the game at the Hawthorns. If they had acted in regard to their managerial situation, they might not be in quite such dire straits right now.

Tyne-Wear Derby Disappointment

Sunday will see the first Tyne-Wear derby for both managers involved, but will either of them be around for next season? You sense that both John Carver and Dick Advocaat are being viewed as temporary appointments by their respective clubs, with Newcastle United ready to survey the managerial market in the summer and Sunderland waiting to see which division they will be playing in before making any more permanent decisions.

Advocaat is the third Sunderland manager in succession to arrive in the midst of a relegation battle and, oddly enough, the third to face Newcastle in his second game in charge. Both his predecessors, Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet, won those derby meetings, results that paved the way for the Black Cats to retain their top-flight status. Advocaat needs to emulate those victories, although neither team goes into the game in particularly fine fettle.

Newcastle have plenty of injuries and suspensions to contend with, while Sunderland will have to cope with the inevitable abuse Adam Johnson will receive. It promises to be a weird derby, with uncertainty overshadowing both parties, but both managers will greatly enhance their chances of being in the same role next season with a win.

2. Video of the Week

3. Player to Watch

Radamel Falcao

After going away for the international break and grabbing himself a couple of goals, Radamel Falcao returns to Manchester United hoping for a similar opportunity to show what he can do.

The Colombian's Old Trafford loan has floundered pretty dramatically over recent months, and with just eight games remaining this season, something special needs to happen if his transfer is to be made permanent.

After scoring for Colombia, Falcao said, per the Daily Star:

"

I think when I score it's always important, and that gives me confidence. I said before I need minutes, I need to play games in a row and here in the national team I have had the opportunity.

I gave my best and I scored and I now return to Manchester with more confidence.

We have the last eight games and I will give my best to have the chance to play as many minutes as possible.

"

On Saturday, United face Aston Villa in a game they will be expecting to win. Prior to the international break, Louis van Gaal seemed to have found a balanced attacking lineup, and that did not include Falcao. It will be interesting to see if the striker gets his chance—even if only from the bench—against Villa.

If he is ignored again, Falcao's United career might already be over. But if he makes an appearance, perhaps there is hope (for him and his agent) yet.

4. Game of the Weekend

Arsenal vs. Liverpool

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The big games in the race for the Champions League are now coming thick and fast, continuing on Saturday when Liverpool visit Arsenal.

After losing against Manchester United last time out, the Reds can scarcely afford another defeat—regardless of the opponent—but a defeat to the Gunners would effectively leave them with only fourth still to play for and potentially eight points adrift of that spot.

Arsenal, in contrast, are still on the fringes of the title race—not that they can afford to look too far ahead, with the primary goal of a top-four finish still to be clinched.

"We have the aspiration to win the next game and that's quite good enough," Wenger said, per Arsenal's official website. "After that, win the next one.

"Whatever is mathematically possible you have to try to achieve but that doesn't depend only on us. What does only depend on us in the final run is our performances and our results, so let's focus on that."

It is always a big game when these two sides meet, but Saturday's game is especially significant at this point in the season. Liverpool can surely not afford to lose if they want to retain their Champions League aspirations—will that greater hunger prove decisive? We shall see.