I think we’re fast approaching the point of no return. After the way Milner strung us along, the club must surely know it has to crap or get off the pot before the summer. We either offer him what he wants, or something close to it, or we lose not only a player whose form is such that it would cost at least £80m to replace him (and that’s if we’re lucky), but one who’s English as well, and who knows what bullshit lies instore post=Brexit in respect of home grown numbers. The way he’s been playing this season, Sterling’s got to be in the £80-90m bracket, if not more, particularly as he’s clearly been working hard on putting his foot through the ball in front of goal and has developed a close to immaculate first touch under pressure. He’s the most improved player in the Premier League over the last 12 months, and potential suitors know they will have us over a barrel as regards the asking price if we let the matter go on much longer. This isn’t like Arsenal and Sanchez, where the player was close to 30. Sterling could easily call any bluff about letting him rot in the reserves for a year, as he’s only 23, and he’s already shown his willingness to play hardball at Liverpool.
Hopefully the support he’s had from the fans in the face of unrelenting media hostility will resonate on a personal level, but I wouldn’t gamble on it. Sounds obvious, but he either signs or we flog him, probably for less than he’s worth, given that we’d be talking about June rather than January, based on how close the league is looking right now. In a way, I don’t think it will come down exclusively to numbers, but also to whether he regards a faltering Madrid as an unmissable opportunity or not, and that’s something that’s out of our control. Personally, unless what he’s asking is so ridiculous and would throw a Sanchez style hand grenade under the club’s entire wage structure, I’d bite the bullet and pay it, and the sooner the better.
