Raheem Sterling may have put his contract negotiations to one side for the time being, but the Liverpool attacker is showing that although his future is uncertain, he wants to be the on that’s in control of it.
Money has been the often quoted reason behind his hesitation in committing his long-term future to the Reds, but in the days leading up to Saturday’s all important meeting with Arsenal, the 20-year old has made it clear that his goal for the remainder of the season is make sure Liverpool are playing Champions League football next season — which, of course, could be another reason he hasn’t put pen to paper quite yet.
Five points out of fourth place following the loss to Manchester United and with only eight matches remaining in the season, securing a return to Europe’s most important cup competition isn’t going to be easy, but Sterling feels the boys are up to the task. “We’ve been in great form in recent weeks and I am just trying to contribute as much as I can to obviously help the team get into the top four” he told SportsYoungTalent. “But I think we are more than capable of doing that.”
Although there are suggestions that the 20-year old could be sold this summer if his contract isn’t sorted out soon, that’s neither here nor there for the time being. With the fitness of Daniel Sturridge questionable heading into the meeting with the Gunners, Sterling could once again be called upon to fill in up top — which would give him a good shot at increasing his goal tally. “My main focus now is to try and improve my goalscoring ratio, practising my finishing in training day in, day out and trying to get to the level I know I can get to” he explained. “It only takes a matter of time.”
