Is Rodgers exit the only way Liverpool can keep Sterling?
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A lot of things are up in the air as far as Liverpool’s immediate future is concerned. Over the course of the summer the Merseyside club must find a new captain, try and sell a number of their fringe players and deal with Raheem Sterling and Brendan Rodgers’ employment statuses.
The former is a known contract rebel, seemingly hell-bent on quitting Anfield in order to join a side that challenge for trophies more regularly than the one-time most successful club in England. The latter clearly wants to continue his work with the Reds, but may struggle to convince the club’s American owners that the side is progressing under him when he has his end of season appraisal.
According to the Sun on Sunday, the pair won’t be at Liverpool together next season, with one or the other certain to head for the exit door over the course of the off-season.
Should Rodgers be the one to cop the bullet, the paper predicts that recently out of work German tactician Jurgen Klopp will be the man to replace him, a move that would see Sterling renege on his demands to leave the club.
Klopp recently brought an end to his time as Borussia Dortmund manager after enduring a disappointing campaign in which his side sit in the bottom three of the Bundesliga over the course of their winter break.
A rally to finish seventh shows the talent the bespectacled German has on the sidelines and his trophy haul of two league crowns and one cup winner’s medal do plenty to push his case to succeed Rodgers.
Whether the relationship between the Northern Irishman and Sterling has broken down so severely that the pair can no longer work together remains to be seen, but the Sun certainly believe that the only way Liverpool can keep their precocious winger is if Rodgers isn’t there.
In fact, Ladbrokes actually make Liverpool the favourites to be Sterling’s club when the summer transfer window closes at 13/8.
Manchester City and Real Madrid follow them in the betting at 3/1, with Chelsea at 4s and Arsenal close behind at 6s.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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