Vinicius Keen To Emulate Sterling’s Goal Scoring Prowess

Vinicius signed for Real Madrid from Flamengo after turning 18 in July 2018 for a fee of €46 million, making him the most expensive player under the age of 19 at the time.

The Brazilian quickly became a regular starter under Santiago Solari, and has made 33 league appearances during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Vinicius’ Real Madrid career so far has been blighted by a lack of goals as he has scored just three goals in 23 games in all competitions this season.

The 19-year-old has revealed he wants to be more productive in the final third and he is modeling his game on Sterling, who also struggled to score goals in the early stages of his career.

“When I played in the youth categories, I was used to scoring a lot of goals, but in professional football I'm playing further from the goal and it’s harder to score,” Vinicius told Esporte Interativo.

“But I am only 19 years old, I'm getting better.”

“Karim [Benzema] and all the players who are always scoring try to help. When I start to score, I'll score a lot of goals, just like every winger here. “

“Sterling for me is an example. At my age, he played just like me and didn't score too many goals, and this season he has already scored a lot. Last season, he scored even more.”

“I'm improving a little bit. I'd never played on the right side, but here I had to. And it gets hard for me because all my moves on the left side are natural, I know everything that I should do. “

“But on the right, I have to think more. On the left side, I do everything without thinking.”

Vinicius could meet his admirer when Real Madrid and Manchester City face-off in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 stage later this month.