By Chris Wright
Liverpool wunderkind Raheem Sterling racked up an impressive tally of five goals in Monday’s 9-0 FA Youth Cup rout of Southend and, by way of reward for his progress at the Kirkby academy, looks nailed-on to be named amongst the substitutes for the first-string’s Europa League tie with Sparta Prague this evening after earning himself a spot on the flight out to the Czech Republic.
Aged just 16 and 71 days, should Sterling feature for Liverpool tonight he will break the club’s youngest first-team player record, being as he is some 179 days younger than the current record holder Jack Robinson – who made his bow for the Reds against Hull in the Premier League last season aged 16 years and 250 days.
I’ll be darned. Where were you aged 16? On a flight in hope of playing top(ish)-level European football for a Premier League side? Nope, me neither.
Anyway, can’t say I know too much about the boy really, other than a passing recollection of the flurry of hype that accompanied his £500,000 move from QPR to Anfield in February of last year.
Anyone out there any the wiser?