Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has challenged new Raheem Sterling to improve his game in order to justify his £49million price-tag.
The England international completed his transfer to last season’s Premier League runners-up earlier in the week from rivals Liverpool [via BBC Sport] and his huge transfer fee has been met with some scepticism from many in the media including former Reds defenders Phil Thompson and Jamie Carragher [via Sky Sports].
However, Pellegrini has shrugged of claims that City paid over the odds for the 20-year-old and is excited by the potential of the young winger:
“The price is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to choose the player you need,” the Chilean manager said [via Mirror Sport].
“The price is so difficult to see. It depends on the performance of the player in the next years. Every time you need a player the price is very high, not just for City, but for every team.”
“He’s a very young player so he has a lot of things to improve. I think it’s important for him to have a new challenge in our team where he will play with great players which will improve his game. He will also improve us as a team
“It will depend how he works over the next few years, but I am sure he will be very important in our team, especially for his speed,” Pellegrini added.
After a good start to the season on a personal level for Sterling, his form dipped towards the end of the campaign as the constant transfer rumours coupled with playing out of position as a wing-back certainly affected his performances for the Reds.
His final goal in the colours of the Merseyside outfit came in the 2-0 victory against Newcastle United back in April as he cut in from the left-wing to curl the ball past Tim Krul.
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City supporters will have to wait a while to see Sterling make his bow as he is set to sit out the pre-season friendly against Australian A-League side Melbourne City at the weekend.