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Opinion

Raheem Sterling comparisons do Rolando Aarons no favours

9 years ago
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News this morning that talks on a new contract for Rolando Aarons have been put on hold with no agreement reached so far.

With only a year left on his contract once we reach the summer, Newcastle fans are understandably worried that what looks a talented player could slip through United’s hands.

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The situation is clouded once again by the hype surrounding Aarons, despite not even having started a Premier League match most supporters see him as the young player with the most talent at St. James’ Park. Though this is based on a very small sample of first team action.

The problem comes when you have a dearth of quality and creativity in senior players, the three Premier League appearances from the bench and two starts in the League Cup arguably showing more than the likes of Gouffran, Obertan and Sammy Ameobi combined.

Small, quick and also from Kingston, Jamaica, it has been an easy/lazy comparison for fans and journalists to make when they’ve compared him to Raheem Sterling.

Only one year older, Sterling has played over 120 games for Liverpool including Champions League action, plus he was one of the stars of the team when at only 19 he helped the scousers to within a whisker of the Premier League title and scored 9 goals in the process.

Already a regular for England, Raheem Sterling already has one World Cup behind him after Brazil last summer.

The problem is how can you keep somebody like Rolando Aarons’ feet on the ground when both he and his agent are hearing these comparisons with Sterling? In the relatively small pond that is Newcastle United at the moment, Aarons is a relatively big fish despite having achieved nothing yet.

Despite often being put forward as a success story for Newcastle United’s academy, Rolando Aarons was almost 17 when he arrived at St. James’ Park.

I still haven’t seen it explained exactly why a player who clearly has ability was released by Bristol City after they’s brought him right through from being a kid.

Goals against Crystal Palace and Manchester City made Aarons Newcastle’s joint fifth top scorer.

However, it was the fact that Rolando Aarons was prepared to take his man on and looks EXCITING, an all too rare commodity these days in the Premier League and especially at Newcastle.

We already accept now that the chances of Newcastle competing for other clubs’ exciting young British players is a real longshot, with the recent example of Spurs signing up Delle Ali despite longstanding United interest.

Just how crushing will it be though when/if Newcastle can’t compete to keep exciting potential that is already at the club.

With Mike Ashley unwilling to spend big on players who have achieved very little at other clubs, what chance of him agreeing a contract that would convince Rolando Aarons to stay if a Premier League club comes along and is willing to speculate?

It is a tough tough competitive world in the Premier League these days and Newcastle United really do have to start competing sometime soon.

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