Manchester City are on the verge of completing their first major summer signing after Brendan Rodgers’ side reluctantly accepted their third bid, believed to be around £49million, for the want-away winger Raheem Sterling.
After extended rounds of negotiations, representatives of the two the clubs were eventually able to congratulate each other on a deal which will see the Merseyside giants receive £49 million for one of their most valuable players.
The Reds had plucked Sterling from QPR’s youth system in 2010 for just half a million dollars.
As per the deal, The Reds will receive a guaranteed payment of £44million upfront with a further £5 million in add-ons subject to Sterling’s appearance record for his new club.
Liverpool remains confident of pocketing the deal amount in full which falls just £1million short of their asking price for the dissident winger.
The 20-year old England international, who is all set to become the most expensive English player ever, is now free to discuss personal terms with Manchester City before undergoing a medical examination mandatory to complete the deal.
Sterling, who has been at odds with Brendan Rogers & Co. since turning down a new £100,000-a-week offer earlier this year, now appears set to complete one of protracted and acrimonious transfer deals in the league history.
The youngster will become Manuel Pellegrini’s first noteworthy summer signing as the Chilean manager attempts to recruit few more home-grown players in the line-up to fill the void created by the departures of Micah Richards, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Scott Sinclair and Dedryck Boyata this summer.
Sterling is amongst the English soccer’s top guns and a regular member of the national squad since making his international debut in 2012. He has scored one goal in 16 England appearances.
The wantaway winger remained behind as Brendan Rodgers’s side departed for Bangkok on their pre-season tour of the Far-East and Australia, signaling progress in talks between the two negotiating sides. Liverpool will play their first friendly against a Thai All Stars XI on Tuesday.
