QPR must still play out potential Raheem Sterling scenario: View | OneFootball

Liverpool poached a young Raheem Sterling away from QPR in 2010, which left the R's wondering what could've been.

Key Takeaways

Raheem Sterling is a household name and QPR fans may be left pondering what could've been, had Liverpool not snatched the winger away from them in 2010.

Sterling joined the R's at age 10. After spending seven years in the Hoops' academy, the Jamaican-born forward was subject to plenty of interest among England's elite clubs.

His mother advised Sterling to choose carefully. This advice saw the youngster sign for Liverpool for an initial £600,000, which could rise to £5 million depending on appearances, and a 20% sell-on clause. Of course, the rest is history, but you'd forgive the QPR faithful for wondering what if he'd stayed.

Sterling's meteoric rise to Liverpool stardom

Just two years after initially joining the Reds, Sterling was already on the cusp of the first team as a teenager. After making his debut in a Europa League qualifying match in August 2012, the winger continued to make his mark for the Merseyside giants.

2012-13 proved to be his breakout year, as the Kingston-born attacker played 24 times for the Anfield side. He scored two goals for Liverpool in the Premier League that season, which was a springboard for him to kick on over the next few years.

He missed just eight league matches over the next two seasons, proving to be a huge part of a Liverpool side that went so close to winning the league in 2014. Being awarded the 2014 Golden Boy award capped off what was an unbelievable year for the former QPR man.

In the space of just four years, Sterling had gone from an academy product at Loftus Road to the hottest young prospect in English football. All of this had fans of his former club watching in awe, as Sterling continued to prove his worth on the biggest stage.

His reputation on Merseyside would eventually be tarnished though, as a contract dispute saw him move to league rivals Manchester City in July 2015. He became the most expensive English player in history at the time, costing the Cityzens £49 million with add-ons. In today's market, that would be considered an absolute steal.

His career flourished at the Etihad Stadium, as he reached new heights with the Sky Blues. However, it could've been a different story entirely had Sterling remained at QPR.

QPR left wondering what could've been

After his breakthrough at Liverpool came at such a young age, the R's would've been left wondering what would've happened had Sterling remained with the club, instead of making the switch to Merseyside.

The fee the West London club received would've softened the blow at the time and QPR's eyes would've certainly lit up once they received their 20% cut of the fee Liverpool received for the winger. They reportedly netted £9.8 million from this, which makes him the fourth-highest fee received in the club's history, despite never playing a senior game for them.

The deal they cut with the Reds certainly proved fruitful but as Sterling has dazzled in the Premier League, the Champions League, and with England on the international stage, it will have been hard for some fans in W12 not to wonder what would've happened had he stayed put.

Given his sparkling talent, the likelihood is that the 29-year-old would still have reached the top of the game had he stayed on with the R's rather than headed to Liverpool.

It may have taken a little longer for him to be recognised and the Loftus Road faithful could have been treated to a few brilliant seasons as a result but that top-flight move and the success that followed would surely still have come.

He bagged seven goals and seven assists for the Reds in the Premier League in 2014/15, the sort of output that could perhaps have helped the R's avoid relegation back to the Championship at the first time of asking, while the West Londoners would surely have got more than the seven-figure fee they earned as a sell-on, just look at the sale of Ebere Eze.

Sterling may even have resisted a move to Chelsea, given the historic rivalry with QPR, had he spent longer at his boyhood club.

It is all, of course, hypothetical but these are the scenarios that some fans will have been playing out since their former academy player's rise to prominence.