Raheem Sterling has been one of the bright young things to have lit up the English Premier League so far this season, and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said the talented winger needs to keep his feet on the ground and not let all the adulation go to his head.
There have been talks already over a new improved contract for the 17-year-old, who was called into the England squad by Roy Hodgson, before their World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine earlier this week. Rodgers, however, has asked Sterling to earn his new contract, rather than handing one based on just potential.
"There has been dialogue between me and Raheem about a contract -- and that has been it," Rodgers told the Daily Mirror. "There is no doubt it is something that we will look at in the next few months though.
"But, I repeat, I have seen it so much with young players. The point I have made to Raheem -- and he has been brilliant, to be fair to him -- is that he will earn it. What I want to see is if he can become consistent with it. If you can be consistent with the chance you get, you will get rewarded for it. That is important.
"He still needs to learn but he is a bright boy and he has adapted very well. But the support mechanism around him has to make sure he is centric to everything. The people around that have to understand that. I can try and educate him but I can't control everything.
"One area that I specialise in is young players. I have worked with top young players and top talent at various clubs. The thing I've seen in Raheem is that he is a great learner. Over the course of pre-season, I wasn't harsh with him. But he had to learn. I look at him now, a couple of months later, and he plays with responsibility. He's learning, and that's important."
Rodgers knows offering a youngster too much money too quickly, might have an adverse effect on the player. "The biggest thing that distorts the reality of people and footballers is money -- I have seen it so much with young players," Rodgers added.
"You see these young boys play one or two games, they get handed these super-duper contracts and then they reach 22 and 23 years of age, you hear people ask (about them), 'What has happened to so-and-so?'
"If we are going to protect young players and help them, you have to protect them and not give them huge contracts. You see these young players who are multi-millionaires. No matter what you say, it takes the edge off them."
