Raheem Sterling Signing Brings Vital New Options to Manchester City

It's taken two weeks, but Manchester City have completed their first major signing of the summer after Raheem Sterling agreed to join the Blues from Liverpool for £49 million.

According to Joe Bernstein writing in the Mail, Sterling has penned a five-year deal worth £180,000 per week and has been given the No. 7 shirt.

James Robson revealed in the Manchester Evening News that the Sterling fee is an initial £44 million outlay, before a series of instalments that could reach a further £5 million depending on City's success.

There is one set of add-ons worth £2 million based on appearances, and there's a further £3 million based on Champions League and Premier League success. If City win the Champions League, Liverpool are due £1.5 million, with a league title worth £1 million to the Anfield club. 

Sterling, 20, will bring some much-needed pace to Manuel Pellegrini's side, who, at times last season, lacked urgency going forward.

Expectant fans greeted him at the Etihad Stadium, and Sterling will now join up with his new team-mates in Australia in order to prepare for the upcoming Premier League season.

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.@sterling31 in the @EtihadAirways Lounge before flying to the Gold Coast to meet up with the team. #cityontour pic.twitter.com/ekCrHyFpB4

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) July 15, 2015"

Speaking in his first interview as a City player for the official club website, Sterling said:

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It's a good feeling and this is really happy time for me and my family. I'm just glad it's all over and done with and I can't wait to get on the training field.

The thing that excites me the most is the world class squad we have and knowing we have a team that is capable of winning things year in, year out. The more quality players that are around you, the more quality it brings out in you so I can't wait to get started and play alongside them.

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No transfer is completely free of risk, and given the huge sum of money City have parted with to land his services, this one has a lot resting on it, but Sterling looks tailor-made for this City side.

There's little doubt they lacked pace last season, particularly in wide areas, with a top-class ball-carrier badly lacking. Sterling, who is homegrown and therefore helps City fulfil Premier League quota rules, ticks a number of boxes for Pellegrini.

As Andi Thomas noted in his SB Nation column earlier this week, Sterling outscored Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas combined last season, and it would seem his arrival will impact on them the most.

He can play on either flank, but on the evidence of his final few months at Anfield, Sterling appears far more dangerous cutting in from the left, and it is likely he will be given a run there in order to establish himself in this City side.

The 4-2-3-1 formation Pellegrini ended last season with would appear to suit him best. This system would see David Silva operating in the No. 10 role, and with his ability to pick passes now utilised alongside Sterling's pace and movement, it could be a lethal combination for City.

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Read @sterling31's exclusive first interview as a #mcfc player: http://t.co/HOIUvT5FzK #WelcomeRaheem pic.twitter.com/CUQAD5KeB9

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) July 14, 2015"

Sterling remains an unfinished player whose decision-making and finishing still need improving, but in terms of sheer talent there are very few 20-year-olds in world football possessing the same potential.

His job now is to settle quickly and begin fighting for a place in a much more competitive squad than the one he has left at Liverpool.

Sterling remains City's only big-name acquisition of the summer thus far, which has caused some tension among supporters keen to get deals done early.

In an ideal world, City would have completed their incomings before they left for their pre-season fixtures in Australia earlier in the week to give them the maximum time to integrate with the squad before the Premier League's big kick-off.

In 2013, Pellegrini's first summer at the club, City did all their major transfer activity early. With the exception of Martin Demichelis, all of City's new players were secured a month before the first game of the Premier League season.

It worked well. City stole a march on their rivals and were able to bed their new men in. They won the league and the League Cup, and much of their success could be attributed to the swift way they operated in the transfer market.

However, this summer is much more complicated. City are once again attempting to sign some of the world's best players. Deals for the most sought-after stars are mired in difficulty, and City's fans need to show patience in the interim.

Pellegrini and Txiki Begiristain, the club's sporting director, are the men charged with landing new players, and pressure is building to give the squad the kind of overhaul most feel it needs after a season beset by inertia and a lack of urgency.

Sterling is a key addition and one of the club's primary targets, but they need more if they are to reassert themselves as title challengers.

Pellegrini and Begiristain are likely to have drawn up their list of targets some months ago, with the latter now doing everything he can to deliver the right names.

The former Barcelona man has come under fire recently for his record in the transfer market since arriving at the club in October 2012.

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ICYMI: Today's announcement as we #WelcomeRaheem to #mcfc: http://t.co/ZfCmmLvJGS pic.twitter.com/dq2qwSPXrE

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) July 14, 2015"

He's worked quickly and with minimum fuss, usually delivering players early in the transfer window because of good planning, but his judgement is often questioned.

Frank Lampard, a short-term signing, was seen as their best acquisition last summer, with Eliaquim Mangala struggling to adapt straight away and Fernando seen as not of the level City require.

However, with City now free from the net spend restrictions imposed on them by UEFA last summer, and with the club's revenue at an all-time high, they are once again looking to sign top-class players. Ultimately, that requires patience.

Meanwhile, City have beaten Adelaide United in a behind-closed-doors warm-up match in Australia, debuting their new Nike home shirt in the progress.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.