Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool set to make Raheem Sterling youngest ever player in Europa League tie
Kenny Dalglish is ready to usher in a new era at Liverpool on Thursday night and make 16-year-old sensation Raheem Sterling the club's youngest ever player.[LNB]The Reds travel to Sparta Prague for their Europa League last 32 first leg clash and teenager Sterling is the surprise name in caretaker boss Dalglish's 23-man squad.[LNB]But the schoolboy, who smashed five goals past Southend in Liverpool's stunning FA Youth Cup 9-0 win at Anfield on Monday, is only permitted to make the trip to the Czech Republic capital because he is on half-term.[LNB]Watch Sterling's five-star show against Southend[LNB] New kid on the block: Raheem Sterling, who scored five in Liverpool's 9-0 FA Youth Cup win over Southend, could become the club's youngest ever player[LNB]Ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Bentiez signed the promising Jamaican born England Under 17 starlet signed for initial ?500,000 last March from Queens Park Rangers, in a deal heralded as one that would one day save the club millions of pounds.[LNB]LIVERPOOL 23-MAN SQUAD Reina, Jones, Gulacsi, Johnson, Flanagan, Aurelio, Robinson, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Carragher, Kelly, Skrtel, Meireles, Cole, Maxi, Jovanovic, Lucas, Coady, Ince, Sterling, Pacheco, Kuyt, Ngog.[LNB]Sterling, who is in the final year of senior school education at Rainhill High School and turned 16 in December, has hugely impressed the club's coaching staff with a string of impressive displays in the youth side.[LNB]He has earned a call-up to senior set-up for the visit to Prague along with Under 18s captain Conor Coady and fellow starlets Jack Robinson, Jonathan Flanagan and Paul Ince's son, Tom.[LNB]Should he feature against Sparta aged just 16 years and 71 days he will break by some margin the previous record set by Robinson - who made his Barclays Premier League debut against Hull last May aged 16 years and 250 days.[LNB] Teenage kicks: Sterling has won rave reviews following a string of impressive performances in the youth team[LNB] Sterling came off the bench in a pre-season friendly against BorussiaMoenchengladbach and last month was officially given a first-team squadnumber.[LNB]'The lads were all going. Most of them were going anyway,' manager Kenny Dalglish said of the youngsters' inclusion.[LNB]'There's nothing any of the boys did on Monday night that surprised us.'[LNB]Academy coach Rodolfo Borrell is keen to keep the highly-rated youngster grounded, however.[LNB]He said: 'To score goals is massive for any player and he is a player with a lot of potential, everybody can see this.[LNB]'But I think it's time for him to have even more humility and work hard at the defensive side of his game and the things he is not so good at.[LNB]'Don't forget he is an U16 player and that's what makes the performance even more impressive but we must protect this player and it's too soon to think this player is a star.'[LNB] Missing man: Steven Gerrard is expected to sit out the trip to the Czech capital[LNB]Dalglish, meanwhile, has left captain Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger at home when they fly out for their Europa League tie but has named Joe Cole in his party.[LNB]After missing the 1-1 draw with Wigan at Anfield, the 30-year-old England midfielder Gerrard remains sidelined with a groin problem.[LNB]TheLiverpool skipper's has not been seen in a red shirt since his last outing in the 1-0 victory over champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]Liverpool's ?35million club record-signing Andy Carroll has also travelled but as he is still recovering from a thigh problem it is for training purposes only.[LNB]Dalglish felt the trip was an ideal opportunity for Carroll, whoonly joined from Newcastle late on transfer deadline day, to continue his integration into the squad.[LNB]'He won't be considered for the game but will travel just to get in and amongst the lads,' he told the club's official website. 'It will help him to feel a part of it.'[LNB] Sterling rate set to soar! Liverpool have a five-star secret weapon in RaheemLiverpool skipper Gerrard set to miss Europa League clash through injuryLille put ?21m price tag on Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool target HazardCarroll in line to make his Liverpool debut against Man United next monthAll the Liverpool news, features and opinion [LNB] Explore more:People: Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Joe Cole, Paul Ince, Andy Carroll Places: Prague, Liverpool, Newcastle, Czech Republic, United Kingdom
