Brendan Rodgers believes Raheem Sterling will have teams running scared this season as he tipped the England winger to maintain his relentless progress.
The 19-year-old has thrived under Rodgers’ guidance and, given his sparkling pre-season form, he has already been installed as one of the favourites to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award next April.
Sterling was one of the few England players to emerge from the World Cup with his reputation intact. After Liverpool beat Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, Rodgers said that Sterling can ‘become anything he wants to be’.
Yesterday the manager added: ‘You have to have an identity as a player. His identity is he has to score goals and create goals — that’s what the job is. He scored 10 last year and this kid is only going to get better.
‘You look at one of the goals he scored against Manchester City (in New York) — he cushioned it and then the finish — how many times have we seen Lionel Messi produce a touch like that? So for teams to have that fear of him shows his development. There is still work for him to do, but he knows that.’ – Daily Mail