Raheem Sterling the young 17 year old Liverpool sensation, is making headline news, where along with Luis Suarez, he has been one of the few bright spots, in what has been a dismal season for the Reds, so far.

Raheem Stirling a star on the rise

This past weekend, Sterling put in another top notch performance in a season, that has been a sparkling coming out party for the youngster. He capped his performance by scoring the only goal in Liverpool’s 1-nil win over Reading, giving Liverpool their 1st home win of the season. In scoring, Sterling became the second youngest Liverpool player, behind Michael Owen, to score in the Premiership.

Sterling, a native of Jamaica, grew up in the capital city of Kingston, where he was raised by his grandmother, before emigrating to London, England with his mother at the age 5.

Sterling’s footballs skills caught the attention of Queens Park Rangers, where he joined their academy at the age of 10. At the age of 14, he was featured on the front cover of Jamaica’s national newspaper The Gleaner who hailed his progress and reported that he had “dazzled the English football world with his prodigious talent”.

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez, signed Sterling in February 2010. After staring for  Liverpool’s youth teams, where in one game he scored five goals in a  9–0 win over Southend United in the FA Youth Cup. Sterling eventually made his first team debut in March 2012, coming on as a substitute in a league match against Wigan Athletic, aged 17 years and 107 days, becoming the second-youngest player ever to play for the club.

He went on to make several other substitute appearances late last term, but it wasn’t until the arrival of new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, that Sterling became a regular in the first team.

Liverpool’s manager Rodgers has taken a paternal roll towards his young prodigy, with a firm tough love approach designed to keep the youngster advancing at pace in a straight line.

Rodgers continued explaining his approach with Sterling, stating that, “It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, nobody in this world responds to being beaten with a stick. I will offer the players the carrot,” Rodgers continued describing Sterling’s performances as “a revelation.” His mentality is really strong. Nothing fazes him and he doesn’t waste his time doing stupid things.

“He has still a long way to go. We want him to be a legend here for the next 10 years and not to get carried away with the adulation so that by the time he is 21 everyone wants him out. “We want him to maintain his hunger and then he can become a top player.”

His recent performances for Liverpool caught the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson, who called Sterling up for the recent qualifiers, where he was an unused substitute. which leaves open the possibility of playing for Jamaica. Which his mother would love. The future looks bright for the youngster. Only time will tell.