Transfer Window: Liverpool Boss Brendan Rodgers May Loan Raheem Sterling

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been making quite some noise in the transfer market during the past few weeks. The most recent news is that of young prodigy Raheem Sterling. Rodgers has suggested that he would consider loaning Sterling. The Liverpool boss has seen Sterling in training and might see it best to loan him to another Premier League side.

Rodgers said via The Telegraph:

"

“He is a talent, but he’s not ready for the first team yet.”

“One of the things I’ve done over my career is manage the expectation of young players and the reality is he is still very, very young.

“There are very few players in the world who get into a Premier League team at 17, never mind a top club. He has certainly shown qualities and we’ll decide over the next few weeks whether he stays and he’s involved now or if he goes for a loan period. That’s a decision for me over the next few weeks.”

"

Many fans had been demanding that Sterling get more first team opportunities towards the end of the reign of Kenny Dalglish, the former Liverpool manager. Sterling did feature against Wigan, Chelsea and Fulham after coming on as a substitute.

Glimpses of Sterling’s talent in these outings made most people connected with Liverpool Football Club anticipate his breakthrough into the Reds first team this season. Rodgers, however, has other plans.

John Henry and FSG might have given Rodgers the backing, but if Liverpool fans are true to themselves, they know that Liverpool cannot afford to miss out on the Champions League again. With Financial Fair Play kicking in from this season, it will be disastrous for Liverpool to maintain their status as a top club in England let alone Europe if they don’t attain fourth spot (or maybe even third as Tottenham discovered earlier this year).

Loaning Sterling would not be such a bad idea after all. Protecting him too long against the physical nature of the Premier League will soon see him want out. Play him and there is every risk of destroying his career while he is not yet robust and tough. An injury may put him out for many months for all you know, and he may not be able to recover his most astonishing attribute: his pace.

Playing for another team does not make him immune to such a fate. What it does do is alleviate Rodgers some unnecessary decisions and blame and give Sterling the playing time he deserves.

Sending the Jamaican-born youngster also means that Stewart Downing may still have a footballing career left to salvage. Downing was criticized to large extents last season and his backers had nothing to offer in his defense. He could not notch a single goal or assist throughout the entire League campaign.

Speaking objectively, I think the overall performance of the entire team was horrendous in Liverpool’s case. Downing was just a contributor to a woeful scenario. Maybe if Rodgers blends in his style and starts getting results, the confidence of players such as Downing may yet rise. That is when we will truly know whether Dalglish’s signing were actually good or not.

Sterling’s loan will also give Rodgers a further insight into his game at the top level when he plays day-in day-out against the likes of Stoke and Bolton. If things are not going well for Rodgers, he can always bring in a more accomplished player back to Anfield anytime he wishes.  

Rodgers is certainly making some decisions. Whether they will see the desired results come to fruition will only be known in the month of judgment: May, 2013.