After a poor performance with England at the 2016 European Championships in France, Raheem Sterling needs a great season for his domestic club Manchester City.
The former Liverpool playmaker also lost his starting place in the team towards the end of last year, and with the Sky Blues signing the likes of John Stones on Tuesday, Sterling needs to impress.
Though Stones is typically a defender, his attacking skills are well-known within the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola has already made it very clear about his regime at City, even stating that if players are not the correct weight, they will not make it on the pitch. Samir Nasri was the first to suffer the axe when he arrived in China slightly too heavy for the International Champions Cup. Guardiola will certainly stick to his word.
Leroy Sane is Sterling’s biggest threat. The 20-year-old German signed for £37 million from Bundesliga side Schalke. and with a price tag like that, it is clear that the City manager thinks he is special. The German international plays on the wing, a position we are accustomed to seeing Sterling move into during a game. At the age of only 20, Sane is here to stay.
He is not the only midfielder that Sterling has to look out for though, as Brazilian Gabriel Jesus has also joined the former Premier League champions. The 19-year-old cost around £27 million and great things are expected of him by the manager, the club and the fans as City fought off major interest from Spanish giants Barcelona in order to sign the teenager and bring him to the top tier of English football.
The misery continues as Ilkay Gundogan was also snapped up by Guardiola this summer as his first signing at Manchester City, making the manager’s attacking options ample in supply.
In terms of game time in the preseason matches, Sterling falls just below halfway with 86 minutes. Compared to the most used player, which is Fernandinho on 235 minutes, this is extremely low. Though this may seem very limited, other names such as Joe Hart, Kevin De Bruyne and Bacary Sagna were present on the field even less. Belgian De Bruyne was considered tired at the Euro’s in France, and has admitted that Guardiola’s training regime is intense.
Sterling did play in Manchester City’s most recent game against Arsenal, and performed much better in a newer role out on the right-wing. The 21-year-old delivered a cross that would lead to a goal against the Gunners. Providing that Sterling performs this way each game in that position, Guardiola could make the switch more permanent.
With the signing of Stones from Everton, the defensive issues that occurred in preseason will hopefully become less of a problem. As the transfer window draws to an end, and the new Premier League season kicks off this weekend, the squad is beginning to look a little more rounded. Stones may have cost City £47.5 million, but this is just shy of the £49 million that City paid for Raheem Sterling that made him the most expensive English player in history, when they bought him from Liverpool last year.
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola begin the season against Sunderland at home, at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Whether Sterling will be used in his new tried and tested position or not, will be something worth looking out for. Keeping his spot may just be a big task.
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