Just like a king who has missed his ways and wandered into the wild, Raheem Sterling seems to be just in line to take a retracing step which might turn out to be progressive in retrospect. The boy who started out his dream of a footballing journey with a club firmly rooted in the capital city of London has tasted the very best of footballing lessons after his exploits to two of the biggest football clubs in England (Liverpool and City).
A boy whose dream of conquering his home city as a champion is well documented has a piece of tattoo right on his right leg to depict how much of fantasy he’s had of the famous Wembley stadium in the heart of Wembley.
Raheem Sterling 27, has now fully completed a £45 million pound move to West London giants, Chelsea. The Winger with Jamaican roots has experienced the fierce anger of the Stamford Bridge faithfuls and as recent as 2018, he was the victim of racial abuse while heading for the ball in a premier league encounter between City and Chelsea at the Bridge that led to the offending fan receiving a life ban from attending future matches at the Bridge.
The England international is said to be open to the idea of joining the blues after having series of conversations on how he would fit into Tuchel’s plans next season. A diminutive and pacy winger, Sterling looks the most similar to what Chelsea has had since Eden Harzard left the club in the summer of 2019. His strength and ability to accelerate within short distances is a major strength of the former Liverpool man and Tuchel is said to be keen to exploit those strengths of his especially against low blocks. Sterling as a player has received the very best of tactical coaching after working with an astute tactician in Pep Guardiola for 5 years.
The winger has also gotten better with his temperament and has now taken more of a leadership role within the city and national team setup. His voice and stance on racial discrimination goes further to show how much of an incredible personality the incoming Chelsea man has got.
With Tuchel pushing for his signature, Chelsea fans are raving about what role Sterling could play in the present squad. We take a look at situations for Sterling to thrive;
◦ As an out-and-out Winger :
The former Liverpool man plays his best football as an out-and-out winger and stats back up this claim.
In his professional career spanning over 400 top flight games so far, the winger has notched 81 goals and 53 assists as a left winger while producing significant numbers of 49 goals and 58 assists when positioned on the right wing. Sterling has often been deployed across the front line and recently as a false “9” by Pep. As a centre forward, Sterling has notched 21 goals and 10 assists in only 46 appearances as a false “9”. A proper goal poacher would be proud of such numbers in same number of appearances but Sterling is no goal poacher.
Often a culprit of missing clear cut chances, Sterling is no clinical finisher but as a winger there are very few who pose greater threats. His pace and ability to beat players 1-on-1 and 1-V-2 has become a rare commodity in the modern game.
What strikes Sterling out more from his equals is his willingness to play for the collective and prioritise the team something he’s become accustomed to under Pep. His finishing when cutting in from the left or getting on the end of crosses from the right are no flukes either with his positioning a lot more sharper than most wingers. Raheem does certainly prefer to play on the flanks and if or not Tuchel does see him playing otherwise remains to be seen.
◦ Raheem Gets A Major Role :
A player as experienced as Sterling amongst the present young crop of attacking options available to Chelsea right now begs for Tuchel and the coaching staff to bestow Sterling with the responsibility of leading the attacking pack. A role jettisoned by the now departed Romelu Lukaku, Tuchel craves a leader in his attacking department and Sterling fits the bill perfectly. For England, Sterling takes the responsibility to help nurture and guide the younger players and he sure could lend that sort of support to the staffs and players at Cobham.
◦ Raheem Sterling as the Main Star :
Since his early days at City, Raheem Sterling hasn’t gotten the sort of “Star role” at club level again. His inconsistency in the city side has limited his impact and with the World Cup to come later this year, Sterling would give anything in return to have a leading role at club level as he seeks to star at the World Cup in Qatar. The role of a leader he’s given at the national team level differs from the sort of role he gets at club level and that sometimes deters his performances for his club side.
At City, Sterling was a star amongst many other big stars and never did he get to nail down a regular starting point all the while Pep was in charge. Sterling thrives on the confidence of his manager towards him and a glimpse of his ability when high on confidence was witnessed during the euros as the “London Boy” led England to a major cup competition final.
With Tuchel willing to make Sterling a major component of his team next season, a replica of Hazard’s time at Chelsea might just be around the corner and we could see another king reign supreme.
The garden of Eden remains but the throne is set for a new king, Raheem Sterling, take a bow!
