After months of drama, during which Raheem Sterling was remarkably vocal about his desire to leave Liverpool for a transfer to Manchester City, that transfer has finally come to fruition. On July 12th, it was announced that Manchester City sign Raheem Sterling, the Reds and the Sky Blues came to terms on the 20-year-old striker, who will head to MCFC on an initial transfer fee of £44 million-plus another £5 million in potential add-ons, pending Sterling's medical at Man City.

It's a hefty transfer fee, especially for someone as young as Raheem Sterling. In fact, provided that Liverpool gets the full £49 million, Sterling will be history's most expensive English player and the most expensive footballer under the age of 21. Is he worth the lofty price tag for Manchester City? Or will Liverpool benefit from the big cash flow more than the Sky Blues will benefit from their acquisition?

A Potential Superstar 

Based on the statistics he's logged so far in his career, Sterling does not quite merit a £49 million (or $76 million) transfer fee. Since taking the first steps of his senior career back in March 2012, Sterling has made 129 appearances and scored 23 goals for Liverpool, overall. In terms of Premier League play, his tallies are 95 appearances and 18 goals.

With all of that said, Sterling is only 20 years old, and is already recording pretty impressive statistics-especially for the fiercely competitive Premier League. In the 2013 2014 season, he tied as the 18th most prolific scorer in the Premier League, with nine goals in league play. He also added six Manchester City Home Shirt 2015 - 2016assists, helping Liverpool teammates like Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge finish the football season at the top of the scorer rankings.

In 2014 2015, Sterling's goal tally fell slightly-partially because of his contract negotiations and his overall restlessness at Liverpool. However, he still scored seven goals in league fixtures (tying for 31st on the leading goal scorers chart) and boosted his assist tally to eight for the football season.

When Sterling dons the Manchester City home shirt 2015 2016, he could evolve even further into an offensive dynamo and impressive team player. For one thing, he'll finally be where he wants to be: with a football club that, in his words, should allow him to win titles.

For another thing, he will continue to become more skilled as a player as he gets older and gains more professional competitive experience. Who knows what kind of footballer Sterling could be by the time his five-year deal with Manchester City expires in 2020?

A Mutually Beneficial Deal

While Raheem Sterling could be headed for soccer superstardom as he trades his red Liverpool kit for the Sky Blue Manchester City kit, most Reds fans don't view his exit as a major blow to the club. On the contrary, in most circles of the professional soccer world, the Sterling's transfer is viewed as a deal that will be mutually beneficial to both Man City and Liverpool.

The benefits for Manchester City are clear they get a strong, homegrown player who has potential to become even stronger over the course of the next five years. Sterling can play forward, winger, or attacking midfielder; he can score goals and offer assists; he's a versatile commodity, and one that will help to complement an already strong Man City squad.

Liverpool, on the other hand, are losing one of their best players-in the same summer that they lost Steven Gerrard, no less-but are still getting a good deal. First of all, £49 million is a lot of money and will allow the Reds to hit the transfer market again-after already bringing in a fair amount of new talent since the conclusion of the 2014 2015 season.

Secondly, Sterling had become more of a distraction at Anfield than anything else, grabbing more headlines for his contract negotiations and not-so-stellar attitude than for anything he was doing on the field. In fact, Liverpool fans had taken to booing Sterling by the end of 2014 2015, so it will be good for the club to get a fresh start with more committed players in 2015 2016.

Celebrate Raheem's arrival at Etihad Stadium today, with a brand new Manchester City shirt 2015 2016 from Soccer Box! You can also keep an eye on our social media accounts-including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn-for other transfer news or rumors.