Liverpool: Jamie Carragher warns Raheem Sterling of fans wrath over contract stand-off

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has warned Reds star Raheem Sterling that his contract wrangle with the club could sour his relationship with fans.

The English midfielder, who has been outstanding for Liverpool this season, has two-years remaining on his current deal, but the club are desperate to tie him down to a new deal with improved terms.

However, the midfielder and his representatives have rejected all approaches from the club thus far and reports suggest that they have shelved contract talks until the summer.

It is believed that Sterling wants to focus on his football and will only open talks at the end of the current campaign, which sees the Merseyside club fighting for a place in the top four of the Premier League and for a place in the final of the FA Cup.

The club is worried that the midfielders head has been turned due to the interest from top clubs all over Europe and are keen to reward him with a lucrative new deal to keep interested parties at bay.

But the midfielder's performances off-late have been below par compared to the rest of the season and the former Reds defender believes that if that continues the frustration among the fans could boil over.

"We all like to maximise what we can earn in any industry but this standoff won't help his relationship with fans or his performances," Carragher said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"The fans frustration though also comes from his contract situation, the longer it continues the more frustration there will be & it paints him & his advisors in a bad light."

The former England defender also feels that Sterling should not be used in the wing-back role and believes that his contract stand-off could affect his performances as well.

"Raheem Sterling's performance yesterday received a lot of criticism & he was nowhere near his best but he's never really looked comfortable in that wingback role, no one has apart from Jordan Ibe," Carragher concluded.