Sherwood made a big mistake!
Tottenham Hotspur passed on the opportunity to sign England wonderkid Raheem Sterling for £200,000 before he joined Liverpool, according to Michael Calvin, author of The Nowhere Men.
Winger Sterling, who is now 19, signed for the Reds from Queens Park Rangers in 2010.
However, it could have turned out very differently had Spurs taken their chance.
Sterling was apparently on Tottenham’s radar at the age of 14 and he played in a trial game against the Premier League club’s youth team.
Recently-sacked head coach Tim Sherwood was working as Tottenham’s technical co-ordinator at the time.
The Telegraph published an extract from The Nowhere Men earlier today, in which award-winning journalist Calvin explained what happened.
It read: “Sterling was a regular in pick-up games organised by [Tom] Walley on a pitch marked out in the back garden of the home of Tim Sherwood, Tottenham’s technical co-ordinator.
“A trial game was arranged, between Tottenham Under 15s and a Brent Schools select, featuring Sterling, who was thought to be available for £200,000.
“Remarkably, Spurs turned him down, because academy coaches were split about his long-term potential and the challenges of his background.”
Tottenham certainly made a mistake. Sterling is among the best teenagers in world football right now.
He scored nine goals and provided five assists in 33 Premier League games last season.
Sterling started England’s 2-1 defeat to Italy in their Group D opener at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil on Saturday. He was one of the top performers on the field.
He has four years left to run on his current contract and it is safe to say that Liverpool would not be prepared to sell him for 100 times what Spurs could have had him for.