After Raheem Sterling finally completed his move from Liverpool to Manchester City, Stan Collymore has questioned whether the England international is worth the buying club's trouble.
The transfer saga has rumbled on for weeks, with the deal eventually completed earlier on Tuesday, with the fee reportedly set to rise to £49million.
That price - City's record signing - makes Sterling the most expensive English player in history, but former Liverpool man Collymore has questioned the value of the 20-year-old attacker, whom he claims has a "toxic" reputation.
"From a Liverpool perspective, they've got a fantastic deal out of the Raheem Sterling situation," he wrote in his Boyle Sports column.
"£50million for a player that was very poor in the last three months of last season. Still largely unproven, he has only helped his club into the Champions League once.
"He scored four goals which 'won' games for LFC last season. They came against Bournemouth, Burnley, Newcastle and Spurs.
"Taking into account that only Spurs were rivals in the league table, winning goals against the others a £50m player does not you make!
"After having such a poor finish to last season, it will be interesting to see if Sterling can switch form on and off like a tap. He's going to be under immense pressure at Man City.
"For Manchester City as a global brand, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero already have this covered.
"I don't think that £50million is going to be helped massively with shirt sales and merchandise because Sterling has got a toxic reputation right now."
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
‘Ruben Amorim could have waited for Real Madrid and had a better chance to be successful – to have joined Manchester United, he must be convinced in his own ability’ Former Old Trafford coach’s verdict on new boss
