The sale of Raheem Sterling won't affect Liverpool nearly as much as the sale of Luis Suarez did, when he was sold around a year ago, according to midfielder Lucas Leiva.
Sterling's £49 million departure to Manchester City comes in a summer where Liverpool have also lost their skipper Steven Gerrard, as the side that came close to the title in 2013-14 slowly but surely disappears.
Liverpool fans may be fearing that the club will have another season of suffering following the sale of another key player, however the defensive midfielder has reassured Liverpool fans that they can cope without the 20-year-old.
What did Lucas Leiva have to say?
During Liverpool's tour in Thailand, Lucas, speaking at a press conference said: "Every season you lose some players.
"Raheem was important for us and he was a young player, but we have also lost Stevie and Glen Johnson this summer too. Those two are experienced players and one [Sterling is a] very good young player.
"I think it would be unfair to put Raheem in the same bracket as Luis. He is only a young player. He is only 20 and has to develop."
He continued: "We shouldn’t start the season again talking about the players that we have lost. Last year I think something that distracted us was losing Luis.
"We knew it would be hard [to let Sterling go] but we just need to focus on the players who arrived.
"We need to make sure we help them settle. I think the team just has to adapt.
"I have been very impressed with a lot of the new players. The club has to move on."
How can Liverpool avoid another poor season?
Lucas believes Liverpool can avoid having another poor season by having a strong pre-season, after opening their schedule with a 4-0 victory in Thailand on Tuesday.
He also believes Liverpool need to start strongly in the league, something they failed to do last season.
"Hopefully this season we'll start positively," Lucas added. "That is what cost us last season. We didn't have a good start.
"We have difficult games again but when we start well, as we have shown in other seasons, the confidence grows and it takes us through to the end of the season."
Many Liverpool fans will be glad to see the back of Sterling after his numerous attempts to leave the club in the disrespectful manner in which he did, but the fans will also know they will be losing a player who can score goals, register assists and ultimately win games for the club.
