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Raheem Sterling: Merseyside Police investigate racially abusive tweets sent to Liverpool midfielder ahead of Manchester City transfer

Sterling’s Twitter account was targeted with vile and racially offensive messages

Jack de Menezes

Monday 13 July 2015 16:06 BST

Raheem Sterling (GETTY IMAGES)

Merseyside Police are investigating vile online abuse aimed at Raheem Sterling after Liverpool accepted a £49m offer from Manchester City for the transfer of the England international.

20-year-old Sterling has done his best to force a move away from Anfield, having initially turned down a new contract before refusing to travel on the clubs pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East. While the rest of the squad departed yesterday for Thailand where they play their first friendly of the season, Sterling remained in the United Kingdom, and it was soon clear why as City had a bid just shy of £50m accepted after two failed bids last month.

With Sterling now set to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical – with the move set to be formally announced tomorrow – it appears the winger will finally get his wish and leave Liverpool.

Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

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1/7Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Felipe Anderson

The Lazio midfielder has enjoyed his breakthrough season in Italy this year, but that has alerted a number of clubs across Europe including Liverpool. The 22-year-old Brazilian is contracted to the Serie A club until 2020 and will therefore cost a significant amount if he were to move this summer, but it’s believed he has the potential to become one of the most dangerous attacking midfielders in the world if he continues his steep development curve.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Theo Walcott

Arsenal’s pace merchant is finding it hard to break back into the first team after recovering from the ruptured cruciate ligament that sidelined him for over a year. With doubts over his fitness, his suitability to the current Arsenal side and whether he’s a better option compared to his team-mates, rumours have linked him with a dramatic Arsenal exit. Liverpool would be one of the teams in for the England winger, who can also play in attack, and given that his speed can terrify any defence he would be a suitable option to replace Sterling.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Marco Reus

Any move for Reus appears to be hinged on firing Brendan Rodgers and hiring Jürgen Klopp, and given the noises coming out of Anfield, it’s unlikely to happen this summer. But if another transfer window goes belly-up, don’t be surprised to see Klopp at the club soon after with Reus in tow. The Germany international is a wonderfully gifted player who combines pace and skill to dazzle defences. He has struggled with a persistent ankle injury in recent months, but he would add a proven quality to the Liverpool ranks.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Divock Origi

Rodgers already knows one signing he will see arrive at Anfield in the summer as Belgium striker Divock Origi will complete the permanent move he agreed last year, having spent the season on loan with Lille. Rodgers could look to revert to the tactics he deployed last season when he had Luis Suarez to pair up with Daniel Sturridge, and although Origi is nowhere near the level Suarez was at present, the Northern Irishman will hope he has unearthed a gem when he arrives in the Premier League.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Alexandre Lacazette

The French forward is being courted by the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, but Liverpool could look to show a sign of intent by launching a bid for him before their rivals. Lacazette is equally adept at playing as a striker or out wide, and it would depend on how Rodgers would choose to deploy him to where he would feature. The France international has helped Lyon secure second in Ligue 1 and will finish the season as top goalscorers barring any heroics from Andre-Pierre Gignac, who trails by six goals.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Jeremy Menez

Menez’s brother and agent has fuelled talk of a move away from AC Milan by admitting he is likely to leave this summer, and even addressed rumours of a move to Liverpool as well as Monaco. However, at this point in time they are just rumours, and despite being able to play out wide he is more suited to an attacking role through the middle.

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Who could Liverpool sign to replace Raheem Sterling?

Ezequiel Lavezzi

The Argentine has fallen off the radar in recent months, but his future at Paris Saint-Germain remains far from certain and a move to the Premier League has always appeared on the cards. At home out wide on the wing, Lavezzi can also do a job up front, and would bring a physicality to the attack that is currently missing in Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Ibe.

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However, that has not gone down well with the cllub’s fans, who feel that Sterling has shown a lack of loyalty to the Reds. But while some fans have managed to contain their anger, others have used social media to send Sterling racially abusive messages and death threats to both him and his young daughter.

Sterling returned to Liverpool training last week (Getty Images)

Many of those who sent abusive messages have since deleted their accounts, but police confirmed today that they are investigating the tweets.

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “The language used in these tweets is abhorrent.

“We are taking the incident extremely seriously and an investigation by detectives in Liverpool CID is on-going.

“People who use the Internet to target others and who commit criminal offences such as harassment or hate crime in doing so are not beyond the law and can expect to be brought to justice.”

One Twitter user by the name of @Bestellia said: “I'm going to hunt your daughter down and lock her up you f****** n*****! Betraying my club for money, typical f****** b*****!”

@xRaheemGo said: “I still hope to see Sterling in a red kit again. Not playing for Liverpool, but his City kit being soaked in his own blood. That'd be nice.”

@MediopakiEN posted: “good riddance to that n***** sterling.”

@patricolfcryer wrote: “Glad sterling's gone hope he flops at city big headed little c*** his agent can f*** himself too.”

@_NH44 tweeted: “f****** black c*** literally hope he f****** dies snake c***. He's not English he's Jamaican.”

Sterling is set to become a City problem on Tuesday (Getty)

The investigation comes after Sterling’s phone number was believed to have been leaked on the internet, only for it to belong to a 17-year-old boy names Joe Adams, who received over 500 calls and 300 texts and included racial abuse.