Raheem Sterling has finally signed for Manchester City after completing a move from Liverpool

Manchester City finally bagged their first signing of the summer after reaching an agreement with Liverpool for the transfer of Raheem Sterling. The 20-year-old winger was being linked with a move away from the Reds for almost six months, but it was only towards the end of the last season that reports finally managed to link him with a move to the Etihad.

What ensued was one of the most protracted and controversial transfer sagas in recent memory. Yes, it did get messy towards the end of it all, but I believe the end justified the means. Here was one player who had no intention of staying on at his club, so the fact that we wanted him was surely an ideal arrangement.

The England winger cost City a total of 49 million pounds

Anyhow, there’s no use pondering on such matters right now. However, what we should be thinking about is having the hottest young football star within our ranks. Raheem Sterling, the winner of the 2014 Golden Boy award is now a Manchester City player. This is the same Raheem Sterling who scored 11 goals in his last two seasons, even before he became 21. If this is not great news for everyone linked with Manchester City, then I don’t know what is.

Who in their right minds wouldn’t want a 20 year old who is rated at 40 million pounds already? Sterling is an excellent footballer even at this stage of his career and it’s mindboggling to even wonder what he could finally blossom into before he reaches his peak. Yes, potential is no guarantee of success, and quite a bit has been made of the transfer fee that we paid for him. I will also admit that 45 million pounds immediately with another 4 million pounds worth of add-ons is definitely a big deal. However, what everyone is failing to see here is the fact that the player who we’ve got in exchange for this princely sum, is a big deal of his own.

Sterling will now join up with his new Manchester City team mates on the clubs’s tour of Australia

As I mentioned earlier, transfermarkt.co.uk rates the England man at 40 million pounds. And how much did we sign him for? 45 million pounds is the answer. So, in today’s market, is 5 million pounds over the actual market value too bad a deal? I think not. Can all of you imagine how much this lad could be worth in another five years? In fact, I expect quick returns from this deal as I can see him return to us each and every single penny that we paid for him within a maximum of two years.

The positives about Raheem Sterling are endless! He scores goals, he creates goals and he is not as fragile as his physique may suggest. He’s made a minimum of 35 appearances in every season he played at Liverpool, which only goes to suggest that he does not succumb to injuries too often. With so many qualities and the added bonus of potential growth, I feel that signing Raheem Sterling is not a bad deal and it is one move that we will look back on with a lot of appreciation when our investment starts to pay dividends down the line.