Raheem Sterling hailed as inspiring role model by Danny Murphy after Football Writers Player of the Year award win

Raheem Sterling hailed as inspiring role model by Danny Murphy after Football Writers Player of the Year award win
Danny Murphy has praised Raheem Sterling for his positive impact off the pitch after the Manchester City star was named Football Writers Player of the Year.Sterling won the prestigious award ahead of PFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk – and received a staggering 62 per cent of the vote.While the England forward has enjoyed a wonderful season, leading Man Citys title charge with 17 goals and ten assists, Sterling has also become the leading voice in English footballs fight against racism.And Murphy believes the 24-year-old, who was also given the Integrity and Impact Award at the BT Sport Industry Awards, has blossomed into a figure of inspiration for young people.1

Sterling with the Integrity and Impact Award at the BT Sport Industry Awards

The talkSPORT pundit said: If you look at what hes done in terms of raising awareness for the DKMS stem cell donors, the young lad at Palace [Damary Dawkins] when he paid for the funeral, supported the family, created awareness hugely for something thats close to my heart as well.Its things like that where hes proactively making an impact on people and actually using his presence and influence.Sterlings made mistakes, who hasnt? You can still progress through adversity and sometimes thats more inspirational than doing everything right all the time. The young lads out there looking up at superstars are going through trouble, making mistakes and taking wrong turns.You can see someone in the limelight and say, Look, hes been through that. Hes taken that much stick, hes made that mistake and look where he is now.On the pitch, Sterling has overcome doubts about his finishing ability to become one of the Premier Leagues most prolific goalscorers.

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...

• Millwall vs Bristol City (Tuesday, 7:45pm) – talkSPORT 2
• Swansea vs Derby (Wednesday, 7:45pm) – talkSPORT 2
• Barcelona vs Liverpool (Wednesday, 8pm) – talkSPORT
• Eintracht Frankfurt vs Chelsea (Thursday, 8pm) – talkSPORT 2
• West Ham vs Southampton (Saturday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
• Cardiff vs Crystal Palace (Saturday 5:30pm) – talkSPORT

And Murphy believes Sterlings improvement is a testament to his determination to get better.When youre a young footballer you have to have a capacious mind in terms of all the information youre given and choose whats good for you, Murphy added.When you work with someone like Pep Guardiola, take on board what hes saying because hes been there and done it, hes improved some of the best players in the world.Raheem deserves credit for not just wanting to improve, but putting in the practice on the pitch and having the courage to do it.

---

Derby boss Frank Lampard is Chelsea's record goalscorer and a possible successor, but whether he would move at this stage of the season is uncertain. Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Sarri following internal discussions at the club. To compound Chelsea's woes, winger Eden Hazard is understood
Zinedine Zidane | FujiiPOP Online Magazine

---

Brain injury charity Headway has demanded a UEFA investigation after Newcastle defender Fabian Schar played on for Switzerland against Georgia on Saturday despite being knocked unconscious in the
Fabian Schar knocked unconscious: Uefa needs to investigate

---

Gomes paves the way for permanent move to Everton after rejecting West Ham offer; Manchester City vs Leicester: Team news, kick-off time, probable line-ups, odds and stats for the Premier
Man Utd vs Man City result, Premier League 2019 report: City

---

talkSPORT.com rounds up all the latest transfer news and biggest football gossip from Monday's papers and online, featuring Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea rumours… Paul Pogba is still wanted by Juventus despite enjoying a new lease of life at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Transfer news and football gossip: Paul Pogba move OFF

---

Liverpool news: Former Everton hero Tim Howard gives brutally honest answer on rivals' title charge The goalkeeper spent a decade at Goodison Park and also played for Manchester United By talkSPORT
Former Everton hero Tim Howard gives brutally honest answer

---

Premier League sides are scoring more goals per game while taking fewer shots this season. Shot-conversion rate and the percentage of attempts on target are at their highest since Opta began
Premier League sides are scoring more goals per game while

---

Ajax stunned reigning Champions League holders Real Madrid 4-1 at the Bernabeu to knock them out at the last-16 stage. Madrid were heavy favourites to go through to the quarter-finals after taking a 2-1 lead from the first leg but were outclassed by the Dutch side in their own stadium.
UEFA Champions League -Real Madrid 0-2 Ajax - Live!

---

Likeliness of Liverpool winning Premier League title revealed

---

What the Macclesfield thumping means for Lucas Perez & Robert Snodgrass' futures at West Ham. West Ham news includes details on how two of Manuel Pellegrini's squad got on in their audition against Macclesfield Town in the Carabao Cup

---

Jose Mourinho: England boss Gareth Southgate backed to take Man Utd job GARETH SOUTHGATE would bring a feel-good factor to Manchester United and should be seriously considered as a replacement for
Manchester United sack Jose Mourinho - rte.ie

---

Emiliano Sala (left) was on board a plane being flown by pilot David Ibbotson French club Nantes have demanded payment from Cardiff City over the £15m transfer of Emiliano Sala, BBC Wales has
Emiliano Sala's £15m transfer fee withheld by Cardiff City as

---

Liverpool will take on fellow five-time winners Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League they are playing really good football, very physical, really stepping it up. We are looking
Scott Brown, Adrian Durham and why last-minute winners should

---