text: Raheem Sterling has prompted new concerns over smoking after fresh pictures emerged of him holding a shisha pipe – this time joined by his teenage Liverpool team-mate Jordon Ibe. The pictures, believed to have been taken in a London bar earlier this season, show the young stars sat together and both are holding shisha pipes. Casually dressed, the pair are sat on a sofa in front of a table with shisha pipes, cans of fizzy Fanta orange and a portable music speaker. Sterling, who is considering his future at Liverpool, and Ibe are considered as the two brightest stars to emerge at the club as they battle to stay among the Barclays Premier League pacesetters. Liverpool players Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe have been pictured smoking a shisha pipe . This is the second time Sterling has been pictured smoking from a shisha pipe in the past few days . The pictures will heap further embarrassment on Liverpool after other recent revelations involving Sterling . Sterling on his feet holding a shisha pipe . Sterling, 20, is battling controversy after the first picture, revealed on Sunday, showed him smoking a shisha pipe. A video then emerged showing him passing out after inhaling nitrous oxide – otherwise known as ‘laughing gas’ or ‘hippy crack’. The England international has been the subject of a club probe into why he was taking the legal high. But the sight of 19-year-old starlet Ibe, who has made his breakthrough into the Liverpool first team this season, will cause even more concern with club officials, who have declined to comment on the latest pictures. Sterling's representative also refused to comment. Ibe, wearing a red hoodie and ripped black jeans, is pictured holding a shisha pipe. He is sitting next to Sterling, who is wearing a tight white v-neck t-shirt and blue jeans, on the sofa. The pair can be seen smiling and joking as they hold on to the pipes in the bar. Liverpool will be anxious that Sterling does not further damage his public image after a tempestuous period, in which he has become involved in a contract stand-off with the club. He was heckled at the launch of the club’s new kit last week, while a pocket of supporters chanted ‘Raheem Sterling, your agent’s a c***’ during the 2-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night, in which Sterling scored the opening goal. Sterling has turned down a deal worth around £100,000 per week and does not want to resume negotiations until the end of the season. He infuriated Liverpool when he gave an interview to the BBC — without permission — to talk about his contract stand-off and why he did not want to be perceived as a ‘greedy 20-year-old’. Asked on Monday if he will be reminding Sterling of his responsibilities, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: ‘I will do. He’s a young kid who has been in the spotlight now so he knows the demands of being a top class professional — it’s not just on the field it’s off the field, but I will speak with him on it and we’ll move on.’ The players, wearing casual clothing, inhale from the lit shisha pipe (bottom right) It appears that the two players have a shisha pipe apiece and are also drinking Fanta . Shisha is a water pipe in which flavoured tobacco is roasted with charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water chamber and is inhaled deeply and slowly. The flavoured tobacco smells sweet, making it an enjoyable and relaxing experience, according to enthusiasts. Despite the smoke passing through water, all the risks of smoking a regular cigarette are present – including respiratory and heart diseases, as well as cancer. During an hour-long Shisha smoking session, it has been estimated the smoke inhaled is the equivalent of between 100 and 200 cigarettes. Ibe is seen as a potential star at Anfield after he announced his talent with a sensational display in February’s Merseyside derby draw at Everton. He had spent the past six weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury but returned to the starting line-up during Monday's 2-0 win over Newcastle. The injury has delayed him signing a new contract with the club, although that is expected to be a formality. Shisha pipes are used to smoke fruit-flavoured tobacco, which is burned on hot coals, through a long tube. They are commonly used in the Middle East. It is said that one single shisha session is equal to smoking around 200 cigarettes, which calls into question the professionalism of any athlete using the pipe. The British Heart Foundation website it clearly states: ‘Like cigarettes [shisha] contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, such as arsenic and lead.' Sterling, who has 14 caps for England, was pictured on a social media site with the picture captioned ‘1 down 3 to go’, suggesting he did not just take a single drag on the pipe. In February, Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere faced criticism after he was pictured with a shisha pipe on a night out while recovering from ankle surgery. But the Arsenal star, who has previously been pictured smoking cigarettes, was defended by England manager Roy Hodgson who said he'd tried the Middle Eastern pipe himself and did not think it was a problem. Sterling was pictured on social media whilst smoking a shisha pipe in a story published over the weekend . Sterling was also filmed apparently inhaling nitrous oxide - known as 'hippy crack' Sterling celebrates after scoring Liverpool's opening goal in Monday night's 2-0 win over Newcastle United . Sterling celebrates with Ibe after scoring in Monday night's Premier League match at Anfield . In the video footage, Sterling is seen sucking on an orange balloon then laughing and giggling before he asks one of his friends to give him another hit. When the camera pans back to the 20-year-old, he is either unconscious or has fallen asleep. It is claimed that the video, obtained by The Sun, was taken at his home in Southport in the days before a game. Sportsmail contacted Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, on Monday night. He refused to comment on the story but did not deny that it was his client. Sportsmail columnist and former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher said: ‘In years to come he’ll look back over this period now as a massive learning curve. When you’re a 20-year-old kid, you make mistakes. I did, I’m sure we all do. It’s just important that he learns from it because Raheem Sterling needs to be on the back pages, not the front pages and that’s a problem for him in these last few months.’ Ibe pictured during Monday night's win over Newcastle, which kept Liverpool in the top four chase . Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was due to speak to Sterling to remind him of his responsibilities . Players' union chief Bobby Barnes called for understanding after Sterling 'made a mistake'. He said: 'Nobody would condone the use of these types of substances whether legal or otherwise as footballers are seen as role models. It does send a message to young people that if it's good enough for footballers then it's good enough for them and that is not desirable. 'But you have to bear in mind that we ask an awful lot of young players growing up in the public eye. Many of us look back at things we have done in our teens and early 20s and wish we hadn't done them. 'He's made a mistake and people are human. I am sure this will be a minor blip on his path to a fantastic career.’ Nitrous oxide starves the brain of oxygen and makes users feel light-headed and dizzy. It has been nicknamed ‘laughing gas’ due to the euphoric and relaxed feeling people who inhale it can sometimes feel. Official figures show 460,000 16-24 year-olds took it last year. It has been the cause of 17 deaths since 2006. Tottenham defender Kyle Walker was pictured inhaling a balloon in 2013, while last year Saido Berahino was pictured doing it at the wheel of his Range Rover.
target: New pictures show Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe with shisha pipes .
  The Liverpool pair are dressed in casual clothing and have a pipe each .
  Pictures emerged last week of Liverpool star Sterling smoking shisha .
  Footage also emerged of him inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon .
  The pictures create a fresh problem for Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers .