Liverpool's star man Raheem Sterling has proved yet again this season just how vital he is to the Merseyside club.

With the Reds building up some serious momentum to gatecrash the top four party, as well as looking for FA Cup glory, could Sterling be the catalyst for another memorable season at Anfield?

With contract talks still ongoing, the Mirror has recently reported that he's dropped the biggest hint yet that he will be staying on Merseyside. Speaking ahead of Liverpool's heartbreaking Europa League penalty shootout defeat to Besiktas, Sterling said: "It is not a distraction to me, I am concentrating on winning games for Liverpool and hopefully it will be done soon."

He added: "I speak to my representative every day and he has just told me to concentrate on playing football, and him and the club will deal with it. I am happy playing football and I am focused on trying to do my best for this football club."

The 20-year-old has once again proved how important he is to Brendan Rodgers team this term. Sterling has played an astonishing 44 times for club and country this season, and has found the net on ten occasions. The Jamaican-born England international has seemingly overnight turned himself into one of the world's best wingers. The ex-QPR youth prodigy has already stacked up over 100 appearances for Liverpool, and the Anfield faithful will be hoping that he's around for a lot longer yet.

[ad_pod id='football-friends' align='center']

Rodgers' side, who have had an indifferent Premier League campaign thus far, have really started to gain some real momentum at just the right time. The Reds are currently on a ten-game unbeaten streak in the league, and as a consequence of their fine run of results, they now find themselves up to sixth in the table, just two point off of a Champions League spot.

Sterling has played in 24 of Liverpool's 26 Premier League games this season, and has been as effective as ever. The way the youngster plays, makes you wonder how on earth he can play so many times without suffering many injuries. He has a remarkable engine that never seems to run out of power, and his energetic displays make him a priceless asset to Liverpool.

The fact that he played 120 minutes of football in Turkey on Thursday night, after being so influential in the 90 minutes he played at St Mary's on Sunday, speaks volumes of his outstanding fitness and confidence.

With Liverpool legend and skipper Steven Gerrard leaving the club at the end of the season, the Reds can't afford a player of Sterling's calibre to follow suit. And with the greatest respect to Gerrard, Sterling would be more of a loss to Liverpool, due to the uniqueness of the job he does for the team.

Players like Raheem Sterling don't come around too often - that's why it's imperative for Liverpool that he stays at Anfield in the summer. But for now, Sterling's full focus should be on helping his side gain a top four place, and securing a first FA Cup trophy since 2006.

[ad_pod id='ffc-video' align='center']

[ad_pod id='ricco' align='center']