Raheem Sterling is a hot name these days and his upside might lead him to a major transfer this summer. Where do you ask? Real Madrid.

The words of destiny came from none other than Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.

"We know who Raheem Sterling is, and of course we are monitoring him as a player," Zidane said according to Goal.com. "There are very few players in the world who can improve the Real Madrid squad, so it is going to make sense we monitor the progress of the best young players in the world.

"We monitored [Gareth] Bale for over a year, the same with Isco and also [Raphael] Varane. We monitor many of the best young players in Europe, then if we feel they have something to offer Real Madrid we will contact their club and try and make the next step."

But is Sterling a smart addition for Los Blancos or simply a marketing stint that could ultimately be a waste of money?

Versatility is one major contribution he brings. He has played a total of eight different positions for Liverpool this season ranging from forward to attacking midfielder to even defensive midfielder. He has played all three forward positions and has been shifted around in the attacking third as well. When he has been asked to sit deeper in the midfield he has been played on the right side. So this would be big for coach Carlo Ancelotti (assuming he remains with Madrid next year). The team has a bevy of midfielders and forwards, but if there is a lesson to be learned from this season, it is that rest is imperative for any team throughout a long season. Sterling's versatility would allow him to cover any attacking player including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco, James Rodriguez and even Luka Modric. This gives the team depth of the bench, something not often abundant in Europe's defending champs.

If Sterling reproduced the same numbers in Spain that he has this year in England, he would be fifth on the team in assists and goals scored. Of course, those numbers could decrease given a new status with the club. At Liverpool he is the main man and leads the team in scoring. At Madrid he would likely start on the bench and still be below four or five players in the pecking order.

He is a solid key passer with a career-average of 1.5 key passes per game; this year he has reached an average of 2.1, a career-high that should increase with more experience. On Madrid his career average would be good for fifth on the team.

He is also a tremendous dribbler and his career-average of 2.4 dribbles per game would be second only to Isco. However he would likely be the best dribbler on the team as he has averaged 3.2 dribbles per game over the last three years. Of course dribbling comes with a consequence and that often leads to being dispossessed. And Sterling's career-average of 2.1 dispossessions per game would be the worst on the team, by a long shot. He also has the propensity of making poor touches, something that should improve with age and experience.

He is not a particularly great defender and his current numbers would do little to help his cause at Madrid. He would also be the shortest player on the current roster and among the lighter ones as well. Spanish is not as physical as England so that might be offset by his experience. But there is no doubt that he poses no aerial threat and would be of no use in that department for Real Madrid.

At 20 years of age, the Englishman still has a long way to go before reaching his prime. So there should be no doubt that he will improve.