Is Sterling in Pep’s plans? After this window ended Arsenal decided to mess with City and plant rumors that he was in discussions with a potential Sanchez deal. This may be a hot take but if Sterling was involved in that deal Arsenal would be sending us money, not the other way around. Sterling is a young, English talent. Naturally, the window ends and rumors begin to fly about Sterling leaving City eventually. Imagine how crazy you have to be to publish this. Sterling is 22 years old. He’s English. He’s only gotten better since Pep has been here.
Sterling is someone who hot take artist say isn’t a Pep player but I completely disagree. Even the pieces saying Pep isn’t developing Sterling. This is ludicrous at its finest. I don’t understand what people don’t see in Sterling. Sterling possess elite pace. He blows by defenders. Sterling also wins penalties and free kicks with his pace. When he burns past a defender they have no option but to foul him.
Sterling is a tricky dribbler. This also come in handy when beating full-backs. Sterling is willing to put in the work defensively. He sacrifices his game to help the team. He also has the versatility that Pep loves. Sterling can play either wing or as a second striker in a two man front. I wrote about what Pep is looking for in each position in the 3-5-2. In one of the striker positions, he wants someone who will track back, receive the ball, and attack defenders. Does this not sound perfect for Sterling? His game is literally attacking defenders one on one and winning and Pep is playing a system perfect for that. Sterling is dangerous on either wing as well. When he hugs the touchlines and receives the ball he is an immediate threat. He can blow by people and move the ball forward. He is a game breaker to allow City to break down park the bus defenses (when do we play United?).
People who don’t like Sterling have either quickly exited this article or are currently screaming and their laptop “he is terrible in the final third”. Well…he isn’t terrible. I’ll be the first to admit that Sterling needs to get better in the final third. However, he is 22. Lets keep in mind that he will still be developing for another 4-6 years. The other parts of Sterling’s game are so developed that it’s infuriating how under-developed his abilities in the final third are. Surely if Sterling was better in the final third he’d be at Barcelona of Madrid and this is what frustrates City and England fans.
I have seen improvements from him this year. For starters, he has 2 goals in 3 appearances this year. Short sample size, yes, but something to look forward to. Sterling seems to have too much time, because of how good he is, that he overthinks it and screws up. When Sterling is rushed he generally makes the right decisions. Watch Pep work his magic and with time Sterling will become one of Europe’s elite and people hating on him now will be singing his praises.