Liverpool to use Sterling as bait

Liverpool who have been adamant about wanting to keep their youngster Raheem Sterling, are now looking to use him as bait to fund moves for Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne and Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke, according to rumours.

The 20-year old Englishman is closely monitored by a number of clubs, among which Manchester City recently had a £25m bid rejected, but are keen on Sterling and are ready to place a £40m bid in next few days.

Liverpool who were previously hesistant to sell Sterling, have now learnt from the Lewandowski saga and are now more than happy to sell if their valuation of £40m is met. This money is expected to fund the transfers of Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke from Southampton and Aston Villa respectively.

Liverpool are weak in their goal-scoring options and with Sterling looking set to go, Benteke, who had a good season with Aston Villa, scoring 15 goals in all competitions, has come up as a major transfer target for the Liverpool Board.

Villa manager Tim Sherwood has already made it clear that the Belgian forward will only be sold if club meets his release clause of £32m. This is why Liverpool would want get every penny they can get from Sterling and use it for these purposes.

Another target that has come up for Liverpool is 23 year old English right-back Nathaniel Clyne, who has been in amazing form for Southampton and is one of the hottest properties this summer window with big clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool battling it for the 23 year old. Liverpool are willing to spend as much as £20m to bring him to Anfield.