Age at first goal: 17 years and 312 days Raheem Sterling joined Liverpool as an academy prospect from QPR for £600,000, potentially rising to £5m with add-ons. Quite the fee for a teenager, but Sterling started repaying the fee early when be broke into the first team at Anfield aged just 17. The winger netted his first Premier League goal against Reading in October 2012 with a shot from the edge of the box, and although he only scored one more goal that season, he had made his mark on English football, making his senior debut for the national side just a month after the goal against Reading. What happened next? Sterling became a key player for both Liverpool and England as a teenager and in the 2013/14 season he was part of an attacking trio - alongside Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez - who came so close to bringing the Premier League title to Anfield. They couldn't keep it up without Suarez and finished 6th after the Uruguayan left for Barcelona. After that disappointing season, Sterling requested to leave and eventually completed an acrimonious transfer to Manchester City for an eye-watering fee of around £49m. He has impressed at times in his first season for City, and at the age of just 21 he can only get better.
David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990
