Liverpool can recover from Raheem Sterling exit says Rick Parry

Liverpool can recover from the exit of contract rebel Raheem Sterling should the England international leave the club, according to former chief executive Rick Parry.

The 20-year-old has turned down a deal worth £100,000-a-week and with just over two years remaining on his current deal which expires in 2017, speculation is rife regarding his future on Merseyside.

Arsenal and Real Madrid have both been linked with a summer move for Sterling, who has netted just six goals in 28 Premier League starts this term for Brendan Rodgers' side, who are seven points adrift of the top four and are set to miss out on the Champions League.

Big-name departures

Following the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona last summer, the loss of Sterling would be the second high-profile departure from Liverpool in recent seasons, but Parry says the club can recover much like they did after losing Steve McManaman and Michael Owen.

"It's never an easy situation, it's getting harder and harder but, at the end of the day, as a club, it comes to the point where you have got to come up with what you think is a realistic value," the former Liverpool chief told Talksport.

"You give the player the option [of a new deal] and you hope that he stays but, if he doesn't, no player is bigger than the club.

"Life moves on. We've lost our fair share in my day. We saw Steve McManaman go on a Bosman and we lost Michael Owen but the club picked itself up and gets on with it.

"Clearly there is a premium on young English talent at the moment and we already have quotes on numbers of players.

"If Greg Dyke gets his way they'll be even stronger, so you'll have your Man City's and your Chelsea's looking to make sure their squads are full of sufficient English players.

"For me I'd love to see Raheem stay. Twenty years old, why is this a big debate? Surely there is another big contract to come from Liverpool and surely he can see how he's benefitted."