OMNISPORT

Manuel Pellegrini has defended Manchester City's decision to make Raheem Sterling the most expensive English player following his protracted move from Liverpool. 

The 20-year-old England winger completed his transfer on Tuesday and could end up costing City £49million, a fee that has sparked plenty of debate. 

But Pellegrini is unconcerned by the outlay, as he said: "The price is not the most important thing – the most important thing is to choose the player you need.

"Every time you need a player the price is very high – not just for City, but for every team."

Having finally landed Sterling, City boss Pellegrini is relishing watching the youngster flourish and the prospect of seeing him fulfil his potential. 

He added: "I think that Raheem can play in different positions – he can play as a forward because he has a lot of speed or he can play also on the wing.

"He's a very young player so he has a lot of things to improve. I think it's important for him to have a new challenge in our team where he will play with great players which will improve his game. He will also improve us as a team.

"I think that Raheem has already demonstrated what he can do as a player at Liverpool but he's just 20 so he has a lot of things to improve."