Nothing else will hinder Raheem Shaquille Sterling’s journey to Stamford Bridge. Manchester City are willing to let him go. Chelsea have also agreed on the dowry to be issued. Various other details seem to have been completed. Medical tests have also been carried out as the last door to signing the contract.
Blues fans will soon see the new signing in the uniform of their favorite team, possibly during their pre-season tour of the United States and Italy. Why is the transfer of the 27-year-old player still interesting to talk about? What’s so special about a Jamaican-born player who seems to be constantly ridiculed by insults?
The track record of the man whose birthday is every December 8 with The Citizen can be described in light and dark sketches. Behind the clearly legible statistics, lies a message that is vaguely reflected. There have been a number of memorable moments for Sterling at the Etihad Stadium. One of them that is still warm in memory and certainly cannot be erased just happened in the final match of the English Premier League season 2021/2022.
Appearing at home on Sunday night , The Citizen’s fans were silent for almost 45 minutes. How come. Aston Villa, who acted as the visitors twice, scored against Ederson Moraes. Matty Cash and Philippe Coutinho, who scored in the 37th and 69th minutes respectively, had raised hopes for Liverpool fans. The Reds are ready to party. While the title race will end an anticlimactic for City because they failed to pick three winning points in the final match.
However, City managed to gain positive momentum with the inclusion of Raheem Sterling. Together with Ilkay Gundogan, the two became actors for the creation of a goal back seven minutes later. Sterling sent a beautiful cross which was met by Gundogan with a deadly header.
The goal was the turning point for the hosts. Two minutes later, Rodri made the score equally strong. City’s hopes are growing again. In the 81st minute, Gondogan again listed his name on the scoreboard after grabbing Kevin De Bruyne’s pass. A slick comeback with a sweet ending. City also rose to the podium champion.
Such are the important memories of Sterling. A figure who is often slandered because the solutions are sometimes far from satisfactory. However, the important role in crucial matches really cannot be denied. If there is no Sterling who is part of the five-minute story of City’s revival, then May will be a gray month for Manchester Blue. Since leaving Anfield in 2015, Sterling has been part of Guardiola’s big project. No other player has got more trust than Pep Guardiola. No other player has scored more goals than him.
I don’t know what the basic reason is that Guardiola and City are reluctant to keep him, even if only to complete the remaining one year of his contract. Of course more than just the amount of pay per week they have to spend. Figures 300 thousand pounds is not a significant number for a club class City. Because of the magnitude of the power of the club that Guardiola seemed powerless to retain a player he had known well for six seasons. This is reflected in the Spanish coach’s statement, as reported by skysports.com: “If we count the number of games he has played since we were together, it is a lot. He is a key player. In the future? I don’t know what will happen. The club decides.”
It could be that Sterling wants to immediately look for a new challenge like Sadio Mane did. Four English Premier League titles, along with the League Cup and FA Cup are more than enough. It’s time for Sterling to pursue something more that City have not been able to achieve lately: the Champions League.
Chelsea was not without reason to bring Sterling. Agreeing on the price set by City, not far from the £50 million figure that Guardiola once required, was accompanied by certain projections. First, Sterling’s departure gave Phil Foden to Jack Grealish a place to excel, then gave competition to Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount and Timo Werner.
Regardless of the level of competition that will be created, Sterling’s presence is really needed on the front lines of the Blues. Sterling’s ability to play on both wings to become a “false nine” which is preferred by Thomas Tuchel rather than a conventional “target man”. The departure of Romelu Lukaku who was on loan at Inter Milan meant that Sterling’s arrival came at the right time. The presence of Sterling is part of the refreshment of the Blue’s attack line which was not bright enough last season.
When facing against teams with solid defense as seen in the last half of the season, Chelsea can not do much. Teams such as Manchester City, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, West Ham, Everton, Man United, to Leicester made Chelsea’s attacks look like they didn’t have a spur. Second, although the way he runs and dribbles is often a joke, his ability to penetrate the opponent’s defense has been tested.
He is a player who has the ability to rush straight into the penalty box. No other player in the Chelsea team, apart from Callum Hudson-Odoi, has been able to play that role effectively in recent seasons. Third, the fact that Sterling is not immune from frustration over some of Guardiola’s decisions to ignore him in important matches, requires him to find new challenges that allow him to appear fresher. It’s a big stake. Not only his position in the club but also the national team.
The 2022 World Cup is just a few months away. His position is not yet secure, although many observers believe one slot already belongs to Sterling, as is the case for Harry Kane and Harry Maguire. Gareth Southgate still has to be convinced by performances. If not, then the coach will be more inclined to Jack Grealish, although the risk will trigger another polemic as happened during the UEFA Nations League event.
Fourth, will Sterling be successful at Chelsea? Or will his fate be like that of Lukaku? There is an interesting hypothesis on this question. Instead of bringing in players from other leagues, it would be better if you recruit players from the same league. Compared to Lukaku, who previously felt comfortable in Serie A, Sterling was very familiar with and used to the atmosphere and climate of the English Premier League competition. Sterling does not need to adapt to the harshness of the competition in the competition. He just needs to adapt to Tuchel’s vision, and align himself with the other players to translate the coach’s tactics. Putting his best in he will surely mean a lot to Chelsea.
ASL
