Patrick Vieira has lavished praise on reported City target Raheem Sterling, amid speculation that The Blues could be set to make a third bid for the Englishman this summer. The alleged £50 million it would cost to take Sterling to Eastlands has been criticised for the excessive price – £12 million more than current record signing Sergio Aguero – but Vieira believes the Liverpool man is much better than some are giving him credit for.
In an interview with ESPN, Vieira praised the 20-year-old England international, saying “I think if you go down and ask 10 people what they think about him, I think nine would give you a positive answer. I would be part of the nine people because he’s shown how good he is, how well he’s been doing at Liverpool.”
“If he is in the market, not just City would be interested in him.”
Sterling has managed to come under fire from some football fans – and especially some sections of the City and Liverpool support – for a less-than-satisfactory season following two very good campaigns between 2012 and 2014. This has led to the criticism of City for being seemingly willing to pay a club record fee for the youngster, but if he remains for a number of years and wins several trophies, that fee will all seem worth it.
The Elite Development Squad manager was quick to distance himself from the first team however, and ergo any of the speculation surrounding Liverpool man Sterling; “but that’s the first team and I’m not part of the first team, I work with the Academy. So I’m just giving you my opinion.”
Patrick Vieira also used the example of Sterling to show just how far City have come as a club since 2008: “I remember before I joined the club, Manchester City were fighting to stay in the Premier League. We’re just talking about four or five years ago, now they are fighting to win the title. They are fighting to win the Champions League. They are competing against the best teams in Europe.”
“So I think the team has improved a lot, the club is really going up fast. Now, when you have Manchester City in the market, to try to bring a big name, big name players think about it.”
“That shows how Manchester City have become bigger and important in international football.”
Indeed, before the last few years it’s unimaginable to think of City taking a player of Sterling’s calibre off of a club like Liverpool. Hopefully, the current trend of that being an actual possibility continues for years to come.
