Raheem Sterling wants to leave Chelsea – but which teams suit him best tactically?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5719153/2024/08/24/raheem-sterling-transfer-options-Chelsea/
As the summer transfer window enters its final week, Chelsea are in the headlines for what feels like the millionth time in the past two-and-a-half months. The player in question on this occasion is Raheem Sterling.
As The Athletic reported on August 21, Sterling has expressed a desire to leave Chelsea permanently after being left out of their squad for their Premier League opener against his former employers Manchester City last weekend. Sterling’s camp sent out a statement shortly after Chelsea released their line-up for the contest stating that he wanted “clarity” over his future.
Moving Sterling will not be easybecause of his high wages — more than £300,000 a week — and the potential fee that Chelsea demand, so some compromises might need to be made. Disregarding the monetary aspect of any potential deal for now, here are five clubs for whom Sterling is a good tactical fit.
What does Sterling offer?
Before diving into the club angle, it is worth understanding what they will be getting with the current iteration of Sterling. The 29-year-old is no longer the player who scored 37 league goals for City across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. In the right set-up, Sterling might be able to replicate the form he showed in his final campaign for Pep Guardiola’s side (2021-22) in which he scored 16 times and laid on seven assists in 42 matches across the Premier League and Champions League.
Last season was disappointing for Sterling, but it is easy to forget that he started the campaign with five goals and an assist in Chelsea’s first 13 league games. As the graph below shows, he was still a threat while dribbling and could progress play with the ball at his feet. His 2.5 miscontrols and 2.0 times dispossessed per 90 were improvements on the 2.6 and 2.3 per 90 he recorded in 2021-22.
However, Sterling had to create a lot more for himself than in 2021-22 (or 2022-23 for that matter) and his passing, decision-making and shooting regressed.
As things stand, the team that signs Sterling will get a player who is still brilliant in one-v-one situations and works well with overlapping full-backs, with the ability to play across the frontline (remember Guardiola’s false nine and split-striker experiments before Erling Haaland rocked up to the Etihad?).
Sterling’s positioning and timing of runs are still appreciable and should enable him to score between eight to 12 league goals. He is durable, too, and has not had a long-term injury across his senior playing career. However, Sterling lacks the consistency that defined his success at City.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into the five-club team roulette…
Leicester City
Leicester’s troubles surrounding Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and Sterling’s wages make this an unlikely move (a theme throughout this list). But, from a tactical angle, it is worth discussing.
Steve Cooper’s side have only Stephy Mavididi as a pure left winger in their squad, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid playing in that position in their 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. De Cordova-Reid put in an okay performance but did not drive forward with the ball at his feet, looking for a pass instead even if it was a comparatively low-reward option – as he does below.
Abdul Fatawu on the right was much more daring and got the assist for Jamie Vardy’s equaliser, but does not boast much Premier League experience either. Apart from Vardy, Leicester also do not have a goalscorer, which means they need contributions from everywhere.
At Forest, Cooper showed an affinity for wingers who could beat their man and chip in with goals when needed (think Brennan Johnson or Anthony Elanga). Sterling would fit that profile.
Fulham
Like Leicester, Fulham have just one out-and-out left winger in Alex Iwobi, but even he has had better days in midfield of late. Emile Smith Rowe can also play there but looks likely to be used as the No 10 behind Rodrigo Muniz or Raul Jimenez.
Sterling would represent an upgrade on Iwobi and has similar characteristics to the recently-departed Willian in that he can beat a man and feed either Muniz in the middle or build an effective partnership with the impressive Antonee Robinson at left-back. As we explained in our tactical preview of the new season, Fulham averaged the fewest chances created per 90 (1.4) outside of the three relegated teams last season. They also had just 10 key passes following a dribble across the entire campaign.
Sterling, who averaged 1.3 chances created from open play per 90 on his own last season, could help provide a boost in creativity from out wide.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
How do you offset the loss of Pedro Neto? Sign the player he has replaced at Chelsea, of course.
Wolves signed Rodrigo Gomes this summer, with the forward impressing in pre-season and putting in a decent shift on his Premier League debut against Arsenal. However, Gomes, 21, is raw and could certainly do with a more experienced player to learn from.
Tactically, Gary O’Neil’s side might find success by leaning into their width to bring the best out of on-loan striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and their shift to a 4-2-3-1 this season suggests they will do so. Sterling, like Gomes, provides pace but with the added boosts of goalscoring and nous, which Wolves could certainly use.
Referencing the tactical preview again, many of Wolves’ forays forward last season ended with them going backwards, leading to the fewest sequences ending in the attacking third at 51.2 per game. Sterling’s daring forward runs would help them keep their foot on the pedal and utilise the quality they have in attack.
Juventus
The first of two non-Premier League suggestions, Juventus recorded a stellar start to life under Thiago Motta last weekend, beating Como 3-0. Their star performer was 20-year-old left winger Samuel Mbangula, who bagged a goal and an assist.
Mbangula started ahead of Federico Chiesa, who did not even make the bench and is widely expected to depart by the end of the window, and the injured Filip Kostic. Despite Mbangula’s obvious talent, Juventus will need a seasoned alternative in a season where they hope to return to the Serie A summit. The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell and James Horncastle reported on Friday that Juventus are in talks for Jadon Sancho, but Sterling could offer an alternative option.
Motta preferred to let his central players do most of the damage last season for Bologna, but right-winger Riccardo Orsolini did end the 2023-24 season with 10 goals. It is also easy to picture Sterling scoring the kind of goal Mbangula managed against Como, with an overlapping full-back occupying the defender and letting him cut in past a couple of opposition players before bending the ball with his right foot into the far corner.
Motta’s patented 2-7-2 against blocks also needs wingers who can hold their width, which Sterling has previously shown he can do.
Real Betis
Before Guardiola’s City won the Champions League in 2023, the closest City got to the crown was in Sterling’s first season at the club – in 2015-16 when they made the semi-finals. Their manager? Manuel Pellegrini, now at Betis.
Sterling, then just 20 years of age, was not subjected to excessive minutes, starting just 23 Premier League games and six out of their 12 Champions League matches. However, he still produced nine goals and four assists across both competitions.
Last season, Pellegrini led Betis to a seventh-place finish in La Liga, with left-winger Ayoze Perez contributing nine goals. Perez departed for Villarreal this summer, leaving Pellegrini with 31-year-old Juanmi, who spent last season on loan at Malaga, and ex-Barcelona attacker Abde Ezzalzouli as his options on that flank, while Aitor Ruibal and teenager Assane Diao are Betis’ right-wingers.
Sterling presents an obvious upgrade on those players, with Pellegrini using him across the frontline during their brief time together at City.
The Chilean tactician, like others on this list, prefers wingers who can cut inside, and feed attacking midfielders Isco and Nabil Fekir or find overlapping full-backs after beating their marker. A reunion could benefit all parties involved tactically — even if the numbers would be a struggle for a team like Betis.
