Chelsea fans finally look set to see Raheem Sterling approaching his very best. The £47.5million move agreed between Chelsea and Manchester City for the transfer of Sterling looked to be a stroke of genius from Todd Boehly, but injuries have greatly impacted his first six months in west London.
After scoring four goals in his first nine Chelsea appearances in all competitions, Sterling found the back of the net just once in the last three months of the year. A positive World Cup campaign with England gave many supporters optimism that Sterling would return in fine form, but a hamstring injury suffered against his former club Man City, just four days after scoring against Nottingham Forest, looked set to end those hopes.
The England international then spent a month out of the team before returning against Fulham, but he went on to miss the following fixture with a knock. The Tottenham defeat aside, Sterling has looked sharp and positive in Premier League games against Southampton and Leeds, with his crowning moment coming in the crucial Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
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Sterling terrorised the Dortmund defence for the 83 minutes he was on the pitch, scoring the goal that brought the Blues back on level terms on aggregate. Kai Havertz then grabbed the decisive goal from the penalty spot to send Chelsea into the quarter-finals.
The injury crisis at Stamford Bridge is mostly over, but the absence of Thiago Silva with a knee injury is a massive blow. However, Chelsea did not let that affect them against Leeds or Dortmund, with a new-look back three securing back-to-back clean sheets.
Without Silva and Cesar Azpiliceuta, a number of first-team stars have had to step up in the absence of two leaders. Mateo Kovacic has been the player given the armband, while Sterling has also had to make an impact in the big moments.
Sterling's involvement in the final third has not gone unnoticed by Ben Chilwell, but his fellow national teammate believes he has one quality that is extremely useful to Chelsea.
Chilwell told Parimatch: "He’s a brilliant football player, so on the pitch we all kind of knew what we were getting. We knew he was going to impact our team with a lot of goalscoring opportunities, with goals and assists.
"Even though he’s still young, he’s very experienced, he’s played a lot of international football, he’s played a lot of club games in the Premier League.
"He’s brought a lot of experience, which he’s using to help people across the team, especially the younger players. He’s a good addition to the group in terms of his playing style and how he wants to affect the game. And then in the changing room as well, he’s brilliant."
Chelsea have acquired a significant number of younger players since Sterling's arrival, with two in his position alone. Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke have struggled for minutes since the duo signed for the club in January, but Sterling will undoubtedly be helping them settle into the team and make them better Premier League wingers, from the perspective of someone who has won that crown four times.
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