Liverpool Transfer News: Raheem Sterling Expected on Manchester City Tour

Unsettled Liverpool starlet Raheem Sterling is expected to depart Anfield in the near future, with Manchester City his most likely destination—as the Sky Blues look to do business with Brendan Rodgers. 

Jeremy Cross and Ian Whittell of the Daily Star report City expect to include the attacker on their upcoming pre-season tour of Australia, despite having two bids rejected by the Anfield club. 

Cross and Whittell say Manuel Pellegrini has had two approaches of around £40 million knocked back by Rodgers, but a £50 million offer will trigger the deal. 

JON SUPER/Associated Press

City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak is allegedly "willing to meet the asking price and knows agreeing personal terms with Sterling will be a formality," as cited by the two Daily Star writers. 

The proposed transfer fee would make Sterling the most expensive English player in history—and as a result, make him City's all-time record purchase. 

Sterling has returned to Liverpool for early pre-season training this week, but he will surely hope to be away from Merseyside as quickly as possible. 

Rodgers has already responded to the threat of losing the creative talent by signing Brazilian international Roberto Firmino, but the manager cannot deny he is losing one of the greatest youngsters in world football, as a new study estimated Sterling as the most valuable young talent in Europe, per Sky Sports:

The Sterling saga has undermined Liverpool's work in recent months, with the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel quoting Reds legend Jamie Carragher's criticisms of the England player.

Carragher was emphatic about his feelings toward Sterling on Sky Sports, and he lambasted the player's actions at the back end of the season:

"

For a 20-year-old kid to be taking on Liverpool Football Club over a contract—to the pit of my stomach that just winds me up, it angers me. The lad is from London and he obviously wants to go back home. It might not be about money. It may be about trophies or playing in the Champions League. If it's about trophies, Liverpool had a chance for a trophy this year—in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Aston Villa. Where was Sterling?

If you want trophies, they don't get given to you, you have to earn them, you have to play well in big games. What did Liverpool do in the Champions League? Nothing. What did Raheem Sterling do? Nothing. To do what he's done now, there's nothing worse than that. You keep your mouth shut—get on with playing football. You can't have a 20-year-old kid going up to the club asking for this and that every year. It's your job to take the club to these places.

"

Darko Bandic/Associated Press

Carragher's Monday Night Football analysis partner, Gary Neville, laid the blame at the door of Sterling's representative, saying, per Mokbel:

"

I genuinely believe you should make your own mistakes. Liverpool are a great football club, offering a great opportunity to Raheem Sterling. He's got two years left on his contract. It cannot be the right thing to go out and do these kind of things. Your job is to keep them out of the headlines, make the football headlines, not make the controversial headlines.

"

Bleacher Report's Stan Collymore reviewed the options for Sterling recently and gave his opinion on the player's actions:

The weight of expectation clearly affected Sterling during the 2014-15 season. The exit of Luis Suarez, and the injuries to Daniel Sturridge, left Sterling as Liverpool's central fulcrum, and it was too much for such a young player. 

Per Squawka.com, Sterling scored seven goals during the EPL season, and Rodgers was clearly hoping for a bigger contribution. 

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

The move might have been seen as a lack of ambition by Sterling's team behind the scenes, and it is apparent that any trust which was present before has evaporated. 

However, a move to City could be a dangerous one to Sterling—no matter how much money he will be earning in Manchester. The Sky Blues will enter a period of transition in the upcoming weeks, and if Sterling found the pressure at Liverpool too much, the spotlight could blind him at the Etihad. 

Sterling should remain at Liverpool for at least the next season, but it appears that is no longer an option. The Reds will cope with the player's departure—after a strong summer transfer window—and Sterling will be expected to be City's new leading man, at a difficult time for Pellegrini.