Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling has endured a difficult season at Stamford Bridge, and journalist Dean Jones has explained some of the reasoning internally for his up and down form, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.
Sterling has shown signs of being back to his best this campaign, but he’s also been fairly inconsistent by his standards.
Chelsea latest news – Raheem Sterling
Sterling signed for Chelsea for a fee of around £45m last summer from Premier League champions Manchester City, per ESPN. The England international came with plenty of expectations considering the trophies he won and the performances he produced at the Etihad Stadium, but he’s not hit the heights many would have hoped.
It’s difficult to fully pin the blame on Sterling considering the whole squad has underperformed over the last couple of seasons, but as a senior player, Mauricio Pochettino will be expecting him to step up to the plate. The west London club brought in a host of new players during the summer transfer window and are now under the guidance of a new manager in Pochettino, so the team will need time to gel. However, we have seen improvements of late, with Chelsea winning their last three games in all competitions.
Chelsea summer signings
Axel Disasi (Monaco)
£38.5m
Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal)
£30.1m
Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
£52m
Kendry Paez (Independiente del Valle)
£17.27m
Robert Sanchez (Brighton)
£25m
Moises Caicedo (Brighton)
£115m
Lesley Ugochukwu (Rennes)
£23.5m
Angelo Gabriel (Santos)
Undisclosed
Alex Matos (Norwich)
Undisclosed
Diego Moreira (Benfica)
Undisclosed
Ishe Samuels-Smith (Everton)
Undisclosed
Dujuan Richards (Phoenix All Stars Academy)
Undisclosed
Romeo Lavia (Southampton)
£58m
Deivid Washington (Santos)
£17.1m
Djordje Petrovic (New England Revolution)
£14m
Cole Palmer (Manchester City)
£42.5m
Journalist Paul Brown recently told GIVEMESPORT that Sterling is part of a group at Stamford Bridge who need to take accountability for their recent struggles. At 28 years old, Sterling is one of the most senior players in Pochettino’s side, especially when you consider all the young talent Todd Boehly has brought to the club since he arrived.
Sterling’s struggles this term have led to England manager Gareth Southgate omitting him from his latest squad, and the 53-year-old has explained his reasoning behind leaving him out…
“We spoke before the last squad and we’ve been happy with the wide players’ performances in the last four games in particular and in the two in March. The team are playing really well and clearly there’s some stability there. We have added Jarrod Bowen in those wide areas, he’s scored five in seven games and is playing really well and with the Australia game as well there’s the opportunity to learn some different things as well.”
Sterling’s problems at Stamford Bridge are ongoing under Mauricio Pochettino – Dean Jones
Sterling will likely be the first to admit that his time at Chelsea hasn’t gone how he would have hoped. Although the former Liverpool winger has produced performances where he appeared to be back to his best, most recently against Burnley, where he received an 8.5 match rating after scoring and winning a penalty, per FotMob, producing consistently has been a problem.
Jones has suggested that Sterling has ongoing personal problems that have contributed to his struggles in a Chelsea shirt. The journalist adds that Pochettino wasn’t necessarily dropping him again after he was on the bench against Fulham. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said…
“I don’t even know that it’s necessarily Pochettino dropping him. Sterling has had a pretty difficult season on all levels. His personal life, there’s obviously been a couple of ongoing problems that he’s had to deal with. On the pitch his form has been in and out. There have been flashes this season of him being at his best and I think this was one of those days as well. You know, forces the own goal, wins a penalty, scores a goal himself.”
Will the Chelsea winger be dropped for the next game?
Although Chelsea performed well against Fulham, beating the fellow capital club and keeping a clean sheet, without Sterling, Pochettino opted to bring him back into the side. It could have been a surprise to some people, considering his front three did the business, but the Argentine manager clearly has faith in Sterling.
Chelsea face the difficult task of playing Arsenal after the international break, and a player of Sterling’s experience could be exactly what they need. With such a youthful squad, Pochettino needs these sorts of players to perform, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he stuck with him for their next fixture.
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