Raheem Sterling set for £4m cut of Agent's fee if he joins Manchester City
Raheem Sterling could be in line for a £4m cut of his agent's fee if Manchester City meet Liverpool's £50m asking price for the England striker.
City are thought to be on the verge of submitting a third bid for Sterling that is likely to come close to matching Liverpool's valuation.
Liverpool insist they do not want to sell Sterling, who is under contract with them for another two years, but are likely to accept there is no point forcing him to stay if their valuation is met.
Sterling was booed by Liverpool supporters at the end of last season and the level of animosity between the club's board and his agent, Aidy Ward, after months of bickering means there is unlikely to be any attempt to discuss extending his contract.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has tried his best to protect Sterling from criticism, but even he is now likely to accept the player's future lies elsewhere.
Sterling, who stressed this year that he did not want people to see him as a "money-grabbing 20-year-old", could receive as much as half of his agent's fee if the move goes ahead.
Given that agents regularly demand a fee that adds up to 10pc of the overall value of a deal, which includes both the transfer fee and wages over the full length of the contract, Sterling could receive around £4m in a one-off payment if City sign him for £50m and he agrees a five-year contract on wages of more than £100,000 a week.
Normally, it is only players who move clubs on Bosman-style free transfers who pocket large signing-on fees, but Sterling's arrangement with his agent is understood to be an unusual one.
City have made Sterling one of their priority targets after learning that he was not going to agree a new contract with Liverpool last season.
They have had two bids rejected, but they have not moved on to other targets and need to sign another England player following the departure of James Milner to Liverpool last month.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will confirm the appointment of Sean O'Driscoll as assistant manager this morning.
He replaces Colin Pascoe as Rodgers' right-hand man, and will be joined on a new-look backroom team by the academy coach Pepijn Lijnders, who has been promoted to focus on one-to-one sessions with individual players.