Manchester City are lining up a well improved offer for Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling but they have revealed that they won’t meet Liverpool’s valuation of £50million.
An initial bid of £25million, plus £5million in add-ons, has already been turned down by the Merseyside club.
The Sky Blues board are now preparing quite a substantial bid, but reports suggest it will not be above£40million.
City think Liverpool’s valuation of the England international is far too much and believe the £100,000-a-week contract they offered him emphasises that.
The hierarchy at the Etihad Stadium believe that if a player moves for over £50million then they would expect to earn at least £200,000-a-week in wages.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has gone back on his word to what he said last month when he claimed the 20-year-old ‘won’t be going anywhere this summer’ because now the Reds have confirmed that they would let the winger leave Anfield if £50million was offered.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini and his staff are confident that Sterling will be a City player come the new season as the starlet is desperate to play Champions League, a competition that Liverpool failed to qualify for last season.
Sterling’s former club, QPR, say they are to receive 20 per-cent of the fee that he leaves for as it was in the terms of his £5million transfer as a 15-years-old from Loftus Road to Anfield.
City are prepared to offer striker Edin Dzeko with a large amount of money for the winger and this could interest Rodgers who wants a consistent goal-scorer for next season.
The Sky Blues are willing to spend over £150million in this summer transfer window and it is reported that they want to make at least three English signings with Sterling being the pick of the bunch as City bid to regain the Premier League title next season.
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
