Raheem Sterling of Chelsea battles Pervis Estupinan of Brighton in his team's 4-1 away loss in October 2022. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live (h/t Mirror), former Chelsea star Pat Nevin warns Blues forward Raheem Sterling that he may not go to the World Cup if his poor form continues.
The Blues lost their previous game to Brighton and Hove Albion by a huge margin of 4-1. Sterling played as a left wing-back in that game, just like he did in the win against RB Salzburg.
Nevin believes the former Manchester City star is going through a bad patch, even Graham Potter, who is known for getting the best out of the players, is not able to extract much out of the 27-year-old.
Here’s what the former Chelsea winger exactly said (h/t Mirror):
“I’m watching Raheem Sterling right now and I’ve said that Graham Potter has got the best from every player since he has been there, with one exception. Raheem Sterling.
“If he keeps playing the way he is right now, he’s not even a consideration for the World Cup. He is having a really really bad time and today he is having an absolutely terrible game.”
Sterling is going through a rough patch if we look at his numbers this season. He last scored a league goal in the back end of August. Between then and now, there’s just that goal against Salzburg in the Champions League in September.
Hence, despite a fast start to life at Chelsea, the 27-year-old has only four goals and assists in 16 appearances in all competitions. Out of those 16 appearances, only one was from the bench. So, it is not as if he is starved for minutes.
In defence of him though, Potter has tried using him in various positions as per game scenarios, which would not be helpful for the player. The manager has played him as a wing-back for a few games, as a winger and sometimes as a centre-forward.
So, in a way, Sterling is not able to find his best position in the team. For a player who was a star at Manchester City for so many years and usually played in the forward line there, Potter needs to figure out how to make the best use of him, and not move him around like a chess piece.
From Sterling’s viewpoint, he can elevate his game a bit. He has enough credit in his bank though to make sure he goes to the World Cup. He is still one of England’s key players.
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