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Liverpool have agreed to sell Raheem Sterling to Manchester City for £49 million, according to ESPN FC sources. Sterling, 20, is set to become the most expensive Englishman ever and City's record signing after their third bid for the winger was accepted and he will move to the Etihad Stadium if he passes a medical, which could happen as early as Monday. City will pay an initial £44 million with a further £5m in add-ons as Sterling will become their first major summer signing. City had earlier bids of £30m and £40m rejected before raising their offer to a sum that should top the £47m club-record fee they paid for Carlos Tevez in 2009. Sterling had been named in a 30-man squad to travel to Bangkok for Liverpool's preseason tour but the winger, who had missed training on Wednesday and Thursday when he claimed to be ill, was then withdrawn from the squad as Liverpool entered into advanced talks with City. Sterling, whose deal at Anfield is due to expire in 2017, has rejected an offer of a £100,000-a-week extension and was booed by fans at their end-of-season awards ceremony. He has scored 23 goals in 129 games for Liverpool since making his debut in 2012. City have already failed with two bids for Sterling, the second reported to be worth £40m, this summer, with Liverpool understood to be holding out for nearer £50m. Assuming the 20-year-old agrees terms with City and passes a medical, his protracted and acrimonious departure from Anfield will finally be sealed. Sterling has been at loggerheads with the Reds since February, when manager Brendan Rodgers claimed he had been offered "an incredible deal." Two months later Sterling angered the club by confirming, in an unsanctioned interview with the BBC, that he had turned the contract down. The impasse deepened when Sterling's agent, Aidy Ward, claimed the player would not sign even for "£900,000 a week." He became embroiled in fresh controversy after photographs emerged of him appearing to puff on a shisha pipe, and then allegedly inhaling laughing gas. It had been reported that he asked Rodgers if he could be excused from the pre-season tour, although he was initially named in the squad until Sunday's developments. His actions have prompted criticism from a host of former Liverpool stars with Steven Gerrard the latest to speak out, the former Anfield skipper revealing he is "not happy with all that carry-on." Sterling joined Liverpool from Queens Park Ranger's academy in 2010. While the fee will be the second highest Liverpool have ever received, QPR will be due a 20 percent sell-on fee, giving them £8.8m. He made his senior England debut in 2012 and has scored one international goal in 16 appearances. Liverpool fly to Bangkok on Sunday ahead of their first friendly against a Thai All Stars side next Tuesday.
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