3) Liverpool get rid of a troublesome presence
As well as getting a good fee for Sterling, Liverpool also get rid of the distraction over his future in their pre-season preparations. Liverpool need to ensure there is full focus on improving on last season and getting back into the top four, and that is clearly harder to do with an unhappy player around, with reports this week that the 20-year-old did not want to go with the rest of the squad on pre-season, having reported sick for training, according to the Guardian.