Manchester City set to open talks with Raheem Sterling over new contract

Posted Thursday, March 29, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Manchester City set to open talks with Raheem Sterling over new contract
Pep Guardiola and Raheem Sterling have formed a close bond this season

MANCHESTER CITY will open talks with Raheem Sterling over a new contract at the end of the season.

Sterling, man of the match for England in their draw with Italy, has two years left on his current deal but City want to continue their policy of tieing up their major stars for the long term well ahead of their contracts expiring.

Already this season Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi have signed new deals and Sterling will be next – after City have wrapped up their bid to add the Premier League and Champions League titles to the Carabao Cup they won last month.

Sterling, 23, has enjoyed his best season so far for club and country and has paid tribute to the coaching of Pep Guardiola for his improvement.

The winger has been vocal about the manager's influence on his game: "He makes everyone do the simple stuff," Sterling reasoned.

"When I used to dribble, I'd be on the wing and I'd control it with the outside of my foot: that slows the ball down. Pep Guardiola brings you back to what you used to do with the Under 8s, open your body up, gets the rhythm going again. It's little details like that."

The former Liverpool winger, who moved to the Etihad for £44m in the summer of 2015, has scored 20 goals and has 11 assists in all competitions to play a big part in City's chase for a treble of trophies and effectively seal his place in England's squad for this summer's World Cup in Russia.

Despite his impressive performances, Sterling's lack of goals for his country have alarmed fans as we approach the World Cup.

He has scored 20 goals in 37 appearances this season at club level but only two goals in 36 appearances for England. Sterling jokingly suggested Gareth Southgate is to blame.

"I think it is because the gaffer takes me off early!" he said before England's friendly with Italy.

"It is a different environment. Different set-up, at the end of the day I should be scoring a lot more for England, and I put a lot of pressure on myself."

Half of Sterling's 20 goals this season have arrived in the last 10 minutes of games. In his eight England starts for Southgate he has averaged just over 72 minutes.