Manchester City to make final £40m Raheem Sterling bid as Liverpool seal Roberto Firmino signing

Manchester City have seen two bids for Raheem Sterling rejected
Their owners have sanctioned a final offer of £40m plus bonuses
Sterling turned down a £100,000-a-week contract offer at Anfield
Liverpool signed Roberto Firmino for £29million on Wednesday

Published:
21:30 GMT, 24 June 2015

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Updated:
00:31 GMT, 25 June 2015

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Manchester City are set to make a third bid for Raheem Sterling following Liverpool’s £29million capture of Roberto Firmino.

City were also tracking Firmino but have made Sterling one of their top summer targets and are ready to try again after two unsuccessful bids of £25m and £35m plus add-ons.

It is understood that City’s Abu Dhabi owners have sanctioned a final offer of £40m in cash with bonuses that will push the deal closer to the £50m Liverpool are demanding for the unsettled England star.

Manchester City are set to make a final bid for Raheem Sterling of £40million plus bonuses

City have had two bids for the forward already rejected by Liverpool who want £50m for him

Liverpool, who will pay an initial £22m to Hoffenheim for Firmino, do not need to sell Sterling to finance the deal for his Brazilian replacement and are unlikely to soften in their bargaining stance with City.

But managing director Ian Ayre, who is due back on Merseyside later on Thursday after negotiating the Firmino deal at the Copa America in Chile, still has other transfer business with Liverpool in the market for Southampton’s £15m-rated right back Nathaniel Clyne as well as a striker.

Although Chelsea could yet mount a rival bid for Sterling they are said to be reluctant to pay over £40m, particularly in one go.

City are desperate to sign the 20-year-old, who has refused to sign a new £100,000-a-week contract at Anfield, with manager Manuel Pellegrini admitting that they must close the gap on Europe’s top clubs following a disappointing season.

Liverpool sealed the £29million signing of Roberto Firmino who City were also tracking

Firmino was unveiled as a Liverpool player alongside Chief Executive Ian Ayre

‘We need to improve the squad,’ he said. ‘The teams always want new faces and City must make a jump in quality. It was shown against Barcelona (in the Champions League).

‘But I’m at a club which keeps growing because it has the financial power to do that. There is still a very big distance to the best clubs in Europe, and we are trying to narrow that.’