Football
PA Sport 9y

Roy Hodgson wants Raheem Sterling focused on England, not contract

Roy Hodgson wants Raheem Sterling's contract dispute with Liverpool to be the furthest thing from his mind when he reports for England duty.

The 20-year-old has been a regular on the front and back pages this week as the conflict with the Merseyside club over his future intensified.

Sterling's representative Aidy Ward was reported in the London Evening Standard as saying that his client would "definitely leave" Anfield.

Although he later denied making such a comment, the topic of Sterling's future still dominated the headlines on Friday after Liverpool scrapped contract talks that had been planned over the weekend.

Hodgson will offer Sterling his ear should he wish to discuss the problem, but the England manager insists it should not distract the 20-year-old's focus when the squad meet on June 3 to prepare for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland and the Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia.

"If ever he thinks something I say could be of benefit to him, then I'm available," the Three Lions boss said. "But I won't be poking my nose into his business, or even alluding to it, because when Raheem comes to England, I want him to think about England and not think about Liverpool and contracts."

Last month Sterling gave a robust defence of his approach to transfer talks in an interview with the BBC in which he denied he was a "money-grabbing 20-year-old" despite turning down a contract offer worth £100,000 a week.

Sterling has encountered problems on England duty too. Hodgson made the mistake of revealing the winger had told him he was too tired to start England 's 1-0 win over Estonia in Tallinn last October.

The inevitable public backlash that followed angered Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who handed his rising star a brief holiday to help him recover from the fatigue Hodgson spoke about.

The whole saga is something of a mess for a young man who only made his full Premier League debut less than three years ago.

Sterling may feel like the world is on top of him at the moment, but Hodgson says the Londoner will be a stronger and wiser person because of the difficulties he has experienced.

"When you're a player, anyone who speaks out on your behalf runs the risk of making headlines for you," Hodgson said, reflecting on the latest twists and turns of the saga. "But I'd like to think that's something for the player and the agent to sort out. It's none of my business.

"This year Raheem has been in several situations where he's been in the headlines for reasons other than football and he's ridden those situations very, very well.

"The games I've seen him play recently, even when Liverpool haven't maybe been at their very best, I still think his contribution is a good one.

"I'm rather hoping this season will make him even stronger. He'll lose none of his football qualities whatsoever and maybe mentally he'll be a bit more prepared for what being a star for Liverpool and England means."

In his role as England Under-21 manager, Gareth Southgate deals with young players on huge contracts every time he meets up with his squad.

Keeping young millionaires motivated is one of the hardest tasks facing English football, according to the former England defender.

"We have a challenge as our league has more money than the rest of the world so we have to keep their hunger," he said. "For young players, there is a real challenge. I don't know how I would have dealt with it. I'm talking about people much younger than Raheem. Raheem is a senior international with a strong mindset.

"There is a challenge for him and the club this year. But I'm talking about 14, 15, 16-year-olds. There is a real danger there, I think."

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