• Premier League

Liverpool won't sell Sterling despite contract wrangle

Liverpool will not consider a deal to sell Raheem Sterling this summer even if he refuses to sign a new contract, sources have told ESPN FC.

Sterling, 20, is committed to stay at Anfield until 2017 and talks began in October to extend his deal until 2020. Indeed, Liverpool have offered the England winger around £100,000-a-week, a significant increase on his current salary of £35,000-a-week.

However, the player -- through his agent, Aidy Ward -- is understood to have asked for closer to £150,000-a-week, a wage that would put him among the top earners at Anfield.

With talks stalling, however, Sterling has decided to put further contract negotiations on hold until the end of the season, something manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed earlier this month.

Rodgers has repeatedly stated that he believes Liverpool are the best club to continue Sterling's development, but the Reds feel under no pressure to sell the winger and are determined not to pay him more than they feel he is worth.

Liverpool would be entitled to a fee from any club looking to sign him even if he allowed his contract to run out in 2017, as he would still be under 24 at that point. If that were to happen, any such fee would be decided by an independent tribunal, with Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini recently claiming that his market value was £100 million.

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