See for me it has nothing to do with his age and everything to do with consistency. People will argue that Sterling is a very consistent player (and I'd largely agree) but at the end of the day, and it may be highly controversial, Sterling has yet to achieve a full season of consistently top level performances. His debut season was very impressive for a player of his age but not in the realm of world class all things considered, last season he had 6 months of top class performances, and this year, if I'm honest, I think he has been fairly erratic. I mean he rarely has games where you can say he's been poor but at the same time I think he's maybe only been at a top level for a couple of months this season.
It's distorted somewhat by the fact that he has been our "go-to" player in an attacking sense, but to be honest I'm of the opinion that's more down to deficiencies in other areas of the squad as opposed to the sense that Sterling is our only top class player (in the same way for instance Bale was for Spurs). He's got 6 league goals, playing a huge chunk of the season as a striker, and regardless of his age I'd pretty much expect that (at least) from any player up front for us with the chances we create over a season. That Balotelli, Lambert and Borini aren't anywhere near good enough to be on the pitch for us and don't score goals can sometimes (but shouldn't) cloud that. Yes Sterling has been our "main man", but we should never have been in that position, and moving forward I don't think we will be.
Of the list above, only a handful of players will be on £150k and you're talking (for the most part) about world class players with extensive experience internationally and in European competition and who have many years of genuinely top class performances under their belt - Aguero, Sanchez, Rooney, Fabregas, Silva. None of those players (with the exception maybe of Rooney), despite many of them being precocious talents, would have been on massive money early on in their careers - they had to prove themselves over time to earn that money. Again, the silly money Chelsea and City throw around has muddied the waters here, but we're not in a position to pay the kinds of wages they are.
I think Sterling has world class potential and there is no reason to believe he shouldn't reach that level, but he hasn't yet, and he isn't currently performing like a £150k a week player, so why should he be paid like one? Give him £100k a week, and tell him he can earn the higher contract just like everyone else has to. I don't think we should be paying a £50k/week premium for talent that may or may not be fully realised, certainly not on a 7 year contract.
