'Sterling has ability to become the best'

The powerful former Reds striker, who plundered 60 goals in 223 games for the club, is currently preparing to pull on the famous shirt once again, almost 15 years after he first signed up.

Heskey is one of a raft of Anfield alumni out in Singapore forming a team to take on a local XI in a much-anticipated legends encounter at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday.

LFCTV HD will broadcast the match live and exclusively, with reports and interviews from the Far East forming part of pre-game build-up that begins an hour before the 11am GMT kick-off. Fans in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland can click here to subscribe now.

As the time to take to the turf edges ever closer, Heskey briefly switched his focus to providing an assessment of his old side for our cameras - starting with young Sterling.

"He has got great pace and his athletic ability is outstanding," the 2001 treble winner told Liverpoolfc.com. "He can be the best if he wants to be.

"He has got the ability to be - his dribbling ability and awareness as well, at such a young age, he has got already. He's had a little bit of an up-and-down season so far.

"But he's only 19 so you can't expect him to have the consistency of a 23-, 24- or 25-year-old. He has got a lot of attributes that surpass his age. But he's still young, so he still needs to work on certain things."

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Sterling is the Reds' joint-top scorer so far in this campaign with three strikes, with Brendan Rodgers' forward line having been frustrated in front of goal to date.

But Heskey has no doubt that the trio of Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert can soon rediscover the finishing touch they have each shown at previous stages of their career.

The 36-year-old commented: "As you saw with Rickie when he was playing at Southampton, he needs consistency. When he's playing, he gets that form and that's when he gets his goals.

"Mario was pretty much the same when he was at Manchester City, and we saw Fabio Borini at Sunderland. He did really well and breeds confidence."

With more than a week until Liverpool return to action with a journey to Crystal Palace, the manager could be in a position to call upon the services of Daniel Sturridge.

The England international has been sidelined since August 31 with thigh and calf injuries, but may be in contention to add his prolific output to the mix at Selhurst Park next Sunday.

"It will be massive," Heskey said of the news. "He has got the qualities that Michael [Owen] had when I was playing - when he's not there, you certainly do miss him.

"And when he comes back, he gives you a lift. He doesn't necessarily have to perform well, but he actually gives you a lift to go and perform yourself.

"Having Sturridge coming back will probably give them a little bit of a spark and hopefully kick them into gear to actually go on a little bit of a run."