Brendan Rodgers launched Raheem Sterling’s career at Liverpool and he could do the same with Manchester City prodigy Jadon Sancho at Celtic.
Raheem Sterling and Brendan Rodgers may not have parted company on the best of terms after the winger engineered a move to Manchester City in the summer of 2015. Yet, without Rodgers handing him his first start as a precocious 17-year-old just three years earlier, Sterling may not have evolved into one of England’s most exciting talents.
Let alone the most expensive player in the nation’s history.
In fact, Sterling perhaps epitomises Rodgers’ ability to get the best out of his young players. After just one season in Liverpool’s first team, the teenage phenomenon almost spearheaded Liverpool’s march to the Premier League title as one third of a thrilling forward trios alongside Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.
Therefore, perhaps Jadon Sancho should keep this in mind as he weighs up a decision that could have huge ramifications for his long-term career prospects. The Sun claim that Rodgers’ current club Celtic are attempting to lure the Manchester City prospect to Parkhead in the summer.
At 17, Sancho appears far away from Pep Guardiola’s first-team plans at the Etihad but The Sun add that the left winger is highly regarded at the Premier League giants. He has even been tipped to be England’s next superstar forward – following in the footsteps of City’s current number seven.
However, while Guardiola has built his stellar managerial career upon unleashing the potential of the prodigious young talents at his disposal, Sancho could make a bigger splash in a smaller pond.
At Celtic, the teenager would surely find game time easier to come by. And, with Rodgers launching the career of his Manchester City team-mate, Sancho should believe that he could also benefit long term from working under a manager willing to throw a young talent in at the deep end regardless of his age.
With Rodgers at the helm, Sancho could be Celtic’s Sterling.
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