Raheem Sterling Won't Be Missed Like Luis Suarez at Liverpool, Says Lucas Leiva

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has dealt Raheem Sterling a stinging blow just after the winger completed his transfer to Manchester City, asserting he will not be missed at the club as Luis Suarez has been.

Sterling officially made his £49 million move to the Etihad Stadium this week after a breakdown in communication at Anfield, but Lucas says his exit isn't comparable to that of Suarez, per the Mirror's Steve Bates:

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I think we can live with losing Raheem easier than we did when Suarez left. Suarez scored 30 plus goals for us. So I think it would be unfair to put Raheem in the same bracket. He is a young player, only 20 and has to develop. 

Of course, he was very important for us for two seasons. But Suarez is one of the best players in the world at this moment in time and he showed that with us. Raheem is probably one of the best young players around, but there is a gap between him and Luis. Now he has decided to move on and, as a club, things happen but the club feel that they got a good deal.

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Lucas has been at Anfield for eight years now and become accustomed to the comings and goings of team stars, taking an "onwards and upwards" approach to the departure of the want-away Sterling.

The Brazilian went on to add this season has to be different from the last in that there can be no hangover as a result of the sale, adding that compatriot Roberto Firmino can fill the Sterling void:

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We shouldn’t start the season again talking about the players that we lost. Last year I think something that distracted us was losing Luis. We knew it would be hard and it affected our season. Hopefully, this time we will start in a positive way. That is what cost us last season. We didn’t have a good start.

[...]

Hopefully he will be the new Suarez, because that would be great for the club. But it is not fair to put that pressure on him now. I remember when Suarez arrived at Liverpool and people didn’t know much about him. We have to give him time but he has been playing in Germany, which is a very similar league to the one in England.

Emre Can came from the Bundesliga and is an example of someone settling quickly. I think it will be hard, straight away, for Roberto, so it will be just a case of him having to adapt to the club, the language and the way the manager wants us to play.

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The Reds finished second to Manchester City in the 2013-14 Premier League season, but plummeted to sixth last term following Suarez's £70 million move to Barcelona.

Daniel Sturridge's injury woes meant Sterling had to be deployed in a more central role for periods of the campaign, finishing his 2014-15 season with seven goals and seven assists in 35 Premier League outings.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Lucas is right to assert Sterling's age as a telling factor in the different impact each player offered Brendan Rodgers' side, leaving Suarez as certainly the more celebrated of the two.

The manner in which Liverpool's official website bid farewell to each player also tells a tale regarding the way they'll be remembered at Anfield, as illustrated by Merseyside writer Jim Boardman:

Suarez scored 82 goals in 132 appearances for the Reds, per the club's official website. That is equal to a goal every 1.62 games, while Sterling's record of 23 goals in 129 matches works out as a goal every 5.6 games.

Of course, Suarez had his advantages in position and age, but Liverpool may also count their blessings in offloading a player who was so publicly intent on forcing a move away from the club that bought him in 2010.

CLINT HUGHES/Associated Press

The 20-year-old was seen by some as conducting himself in an unsavoury manner this year, airing his concerns in an interview with the BBC's Natalie Pirks before opting out of Liverpool's pre-season tour.

However, Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday thinks Sterling had the right to seek his departure:

From here, Manchester City will nurture the player in the hope that they can develop a player equal to or greater than Suarez, but Lucas clearly feels Liverpool will be able to cope without their sold starlet.

His transfer to the Etihad Stadium brings a swift end to a saga that was anything but, with all at Anfield now hoping for a brighter future and new heroes on the horizon.