Former Chelsea favourite Joe Cole has credited Raheem Sterling for his bravery to join the club from Manchester City in the summer. The England international cost Todd Boehly around £47.5m but has struggled for consistency in west London.
Sterling, 27, has played all but one game for the Blues this season and has featured in various positions across the pitch under Graham Potter. The former Liverpool man has featured at left wing-back for Potter in previous games but the decision has come under scrutiny following last week's defeat to Brighton.
The English attacker joined the club early in the summer in search of regular starts after becoming a victim of Pep Guardiola's squad selection roulette at Manchester City. The outrageous strength in depth within Guardiola's side meant Sterling struggled to be recognised as a superstar and regular game time was offered by Bohely and Thomas Tuchel.
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This season, Sterling has bagged five goals in 17 appearances in all competitions and has struggled to hit the consistency he would have hoped for when he made the switch in the summer. However, Cole has applauded the forward for his brave decision to join Chelsea and has urged supporters to be patient with him.
Speaking in his column for the Telegraph, he said: “Raheem has come out of that Manchester City machine and is adapting to something new. It takes time to do that when you move from one big club to another, and I admire him for making the move.
“At City he was a great of the club for what he had won and also for the goals he had scored. But he took the decision to start again at another giant of the Premier League and that takes some bravery.”
Following his performance in mid-week, Potter refuted the criticism that he had made Sterling play as a wing-back and dropped a potential hint of how he plans to get the best out of the attacker. He said: “Well, we’ve tried to play him as high and wide as we can. I know there is a lot of talk about him being a wing-back, but I played as a wing-back and I can assure you that Raheem has never played as a wing-back! He has never been asked to play and defend in a back five or back four even. His responsibility has always been against the full-back.
"With the back four behind him tonight probably helped, he was a little bit higher and a little bit wider. It was nice for him to score because he has been working hard for the team. As I said before, the team has to function well for the individuals to do well. So I’m really pleased he got his goal today.”
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