Rodgers: Sterling deserves England shot

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers feels Raheem Sterling is fully deserving of a place in the senior England squad at the moment and is confident the 17-year-old will be well “looked after” if he receives another call-up.

Reports had suggested Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson was looking to retain Sterling for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland after giving the winger his first taste of the senior set-up by bringing him in ahead of last month’s 1-1 draw with Ukraine, a game for which he ended up being an unused substitute.

The fact that Sterling was yesterday named as part of the England U21s squad for their double-header with Serbia would appear to suggest he will not figure in Hodgson’s group this time.