From 17-year-old Reserve Player to Household Name

The diabolical conclusion to the transfer window which saw Brendan Rodgers thoroughly starved of financial support from the executive side of the club in his pursuit of Clint Dempsey – who eventually found his way to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day – was a huge cause for concern for Reds fans. It was clear that Rodgers would be forced to dip into the gold-mine that is the Liverpool academy to fill his first team squad until he can bolster his options in January.

Three youngsters have gone straight from the U21’s side to the starting XI this season. English winger Raheem Sterling, defender Andre Wisdom, and Spanish playmaker Suso have all been drafted into the first team to fill the gaps left by the departing Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll, as well as the injuries to Fabio Borini, Martin Kelly and Jose Enrique.

While all three starlets have earned rave reviews in their brief time with the clubs first team, one player in particular has taken the league by storm with his explosive pace, quick feet and commitment to the side: Jamaican-born Sterling.

The youngster made his debut against Wigan in March 2012 coming on as a late substitute to try and rescue a point for Liverpool, who eventually succumbed to a 2-1 home defeat to the Latics. Sterling made further appearances against Fulham and Chelsea before the end of the season, both as a substitute.

He was heavily involved in the clubs pre-season tour of the US, with Rodgers clearly keeping an eye on his talent. In the clubs first competitive game of the season against FC Gomel in Belarus, Joe Cole sustained an early injury forcing Sterling straight into the action. After that he was left out of the season opener against West Brom, but ever since that disappointing 3-0 loss to the Baggies, Sterling has been an automatic pick in the Liverpool side – making his first league start for the club against champions Manchester City.

I, like many other Liverpool fanatics, had been keeping a close eye on Sterling throughout the last few years ever since former manager Rafael Benitez signed him from Queens Park Rangers for £500,000 at the age of 15. I watched many of his performances for the reserves in the 2011-12 season, and I witnessed him impress both in the league games and on the European stage in the Next Gen competition where Liverpool finished third.

He always had undoubted quality and seemed destined for the first team given time. Those last two words are what make his progress this season so surprising. Every Liverpool fan will tell you that Sterling was bound for greatness, but at 5’ 7” and 152 lbs I was convinced it would take him time to adapt to the Premier League and playing with the big boys before he could make a significant impact.

Instead Sterling has showed up in every game this season fighting for possession, and shows his appetite for the game by getting physical constantly throughout games. In the Merseyside Derby the Everton players blatantly targeted Sterling due to his small frame and attempted to bully him out of the game. Sterling responded by relishing the physical side of the game and only tormented the Everton team even more.

It says a lot about a 17-year-old when commentators already refer to him as if he is one of the clubs star players. When Liverpool faced Udinese in the Europa League and Swansea in the Capital One Cup, Sterling was named on the bench alongside the clubs biggest players – Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard. On both occasions Suarez, Gerrard and Sterling were thrown into the action when the side was in trouble. Commentators during the games would talk about Sterling as if he was an obvious game changer to throw onto the field and that he was the most sensible player to throw on when looking for a goal alongside Suarez and Gerrard. This speaks volumes for a player that only made a proper breakthrough into the first team in August.

I always knew Sterling had the ability to play in the first team, but never did I expect him to have the sort of impact he has had on the league. He already has a couple of assists to his name and even grabbed his first senior goal with the only goal of the game against Reading.

His fearless nature has impressed me the most. Player reputations mean nothing to him, shown by how he ran circles around the likes of Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany in the 2-2 draw with Man City. He tracks back more than most experienced wingers and isn’t afraid of challenging for a 50/50 ball. When the entire Everton defense tried to hack him down every time he received the ball, he stood up to it and simply kept coming back for more. Many 17-year-olds would have disappeared out of the game if they were constantly being kicked, but Sterling thrived on it.

Most recently Sterling was named in the Match of the Day 3 “Team of the Season so Far” along with the likes of prolific attackers Juan Mata and Robin van Persie. He was called up to the England U21 team for their European Championship Qualifying play-off games against Serbia and England manager Roy Hodgson also called him up to the full England side, although Sterling never saw game time. As long as Sterling can continue his consistency and continue showing up for the big games while showing responsibility in his play, Liverpool have a potential world class player on their hands.