Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has backed Raheem Sterling to improve his goalscoring record at the club.

The England winger found the net 22 times in two seasons for Liverpool before joining City for around £49m this summer.

Pellegrini believes that the 20-year-old will become more lethal in the final third playing alongside the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero at the Etihad Stadium.

"I trust in Raheem – maybe the media talk about the price but he's a young English player with speed and technical ability," the Chilean told reporters. "Playing with Yaya, Silva and Kun will help Raheem to improve. I trust he will score more goals here than he did before."

Manchester City announced on Friday that Pellegrini has signed a new contract with the club until June 2017.