Soccer

Liverpool pull Raheem Sterling from tour as Man City close in

Talks with City ongoing after two deals were rejected by Liverpool for talented forward

Raheem Sterling will not travel with the Liverpool squad when they head out to Thailand on Sunday as transfer talks are ongoing with Manchester City. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA
Raheem Sterling will not travel with the Liverpool squad when they head out to Thailand on Sunday as transfer talks are ongoing with Manchester City. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA
Sun Jul 12 2015 - 14:04

Raheem Sterling will not travel with the Liverpool squad when they head out to Thailand on Sunday as transfer talks are ongoing with Manchester City.

Sterling was on Saturday named in Liverpool’s 30-man squad for their tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia, but fresh developments mean he will not board the plane.

While there is no deal in place, talks are sufficiently advanced that Sterling will stay behind to see if a deal can be completed.

City have already failed with two bids, the second reported to be worth €55 million, this summer, but it appears they have now made progress in talks.

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Sterling missed the start of pre-season training earlier this week, citing illness as he sat out Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions before reporting on Friday.

It had been reported that he had asked manager Brendan Rodgers if he could be excused from the pre-season tour before being named in the 30-man squad.

Liverpool are due to fly to Bangkok on Sunday ahead of their first friendly against a Thai All Stars side next Tuesday.

It is understood Sterling reported for training with rest of the squad at Melwood on Sunday morning but Liverpool took the decision to withdraw him from the trip.