Gareth Southgate has been told to drop Raheem Sterling for England's opening game of the World Cup against Iran. The Three Lions are set to kickstart their tournament in Qatar on November 21 with a number of in-form players vying for a place in the front-three.
Sterling, who swapped the Etihad Stadium for Stamford Bridge in the summer, has featured 18 times for Chelsea this season, directly contributing towards seven goals. The winger has struggled to build any momentum since Graham Potter replaced former head coach Thomas Tuchel, scoring just none in his previous seven Premier League appearances.
Though, he isn't entirely to blame for his goal drought with the new boss controversially operating Sterling as a wing-back. Potter's plan has somewhat backfired, with doubt now cast over whether the £47.5million-rated talisman warrants a place in Southgate's first-team.
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Speaking on talkSPORT, Darren Bent named England's best front-three and explained why Sterling is left out. The former Aston Villa striker said: "If it’s me, I’m going [Bukayo] Saka, [Phil] Foden and [Harry] Kane.
"He (Sterling) hasn’t played well has he? I know he’s never let England down but he’s not been razor sharp. But to contradict myself, I said before the last euros that he’s not in the starting eleven, and he was England’s best player."
Amid a poor run of form, Sterling is confident that he will soon transform his displays. Speaking to the official club website, the Chelsea star said: "There's been early parts of the season that I was not happy with my performances.
"So far I've been nowhere near the level that I need to be but I'm sure that will come as time passes. It's not something that I'm panicking or stressed about. It's part of the game. We're in a decent position in the table, we've qualified for the Champions League, but there will be better performances from myself in the near future."
With just two games left in the calendar before the World Cup later this month, Sterling will be looking to leave a good impression on Southgate. Though it could be hard, coming up against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup third round and high-flying Newcastle United.
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