Chelsea’s new talisman Raheem Sterling: Who the hell are you? (Vol. 21)
2. Is he any good?
Oh, he’s good—he’s very good. Starting with Sterling’s biggest strength, it’s his movement off the ball, which is why he gets on the end of many high quality chances. This puts the veteran in a position to score many goals per season, as Man City creates so many high quality chances per game. The narrative that Sterling is incredibly wasteful is false and nothing could be further from the truth.
At 47.4% non-penalty big-chance conversion rate, Sterling is up there with Romelu Lukaku in terms of how trustworthy they are with big chances. While that’s not something Blues fans may want to hear right now, it’s an impressive feature. Sterling is not much of a creator, and a majority of his career points to him being the one that solely gets on the end of chances. Sterling is lightening quick. Combine this with his intelligence and superb dribbling ability, and he is a nightmare for any defense to deal with. Sterling’s qualities complemented Man City perfectly as it has many shot and goal creators.
Sterling’s numbers speak for themselves. He has made 320 appearances in the Premier League up to this point, at just 27. The fact that a top manager in Guardiola trusted him so much over the years is an indication of how well Sterling assimilates and executes instructions. Sterling has not only gathered over 300 appearances in the Premier League, he has also racked up over 75 caps for England, as well. His intelligent movement has not only helped him get goals for club, but also for country, as the Englishman is one shy of 20 international goals. Sterling was key for England in the 2018 World Cup where the Three Lions reached the semifinal stage. He’s racked up over 100 Premier League goals and 55 top flight assists, so there is no question about whether or not Chelsea is getting a top player.
It is important to mention though that, despite the Englishman’s impressive goal record, he has only over-performed his expected goals (xG) twice in the last eight seasons. This emphasizes just how good the Citizens were at creating chances for him, but it also means Sterling should not be expected to score many goals if he doesn’t get the corresponding amount of chances. Sterling should not be expected to over-perform his expected goals with the Blues until they address their chance-creation issues.