Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby has said that he believes it could be the "right time" for the club to cash in on wantaway winger Raheem Sterling.

Sterling has been embroiled in a long-running contract dispute with the Merseyside outfit and is expected to tell manager Brendan Rodgers that he wants to leave the club this summer.

The 20-year-old has drawn plenty of criticism for his handling of the situation, even being booed by a smattering of supporters when accepting the club's Young Player of the Year award yesterday.

However, Molby believes that Liverpool would be able to cope with the loss of Sterling a lot better than they did when Luis Suarez left the club last summer.

"If Raheem feels Liverpool is no longer the best place to be then I guess you have to bite the bullet and move him on. It is not like the sale of Suarez. You knew the impact that sale would have on the team - I am not convinced if you sell Sterling it will have the same negative impact," the Dane is quoted as saying by PA.

"In my mind it might be the right time to sell because the club is in transition and maybe we could just do with that money. I think we need to move away from buying potential and buy off the top-shelf, ready-made players, who can go in and improve the team. A lot of fans of Liverpool, steeped in the history, are not used to players wanting to leave so it has come as a bit of a shock.

"It was different in my day, we were at the best club in the country then but we have been used to players dictating terms over the last five or six years. The club retains its status but as a team they don't and if players want to be guaranteed Champions League every season, history over the last five years tells you maybe it isn't Liverpool."

Sterling has scored 11 goals in 47 matches for Liverpool this season.