When Raheem Sterling switched Manchester City for Chelsea, there was a consensus that the England international would be one of the star players at Stamford Bridge. The forward completed his £47.5m move to Stamford Bridge in the summer after seven years at the Etihad Stadium.
Since his move to London, the 28-year-old has made 23 appearances with six goals scored. Sterling was a regular early in the campaign under Thomas Tuchel but has managed to score only the single Premier League goal under Graham Potter.
His presence in attack was absent throughout January after picking up a hamstring injury in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City. He did return in last weekend's stalemate with Fulham, providing a much welcomed boost to Potter's attacking ranks for the second half of the season.
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As has been well documented, Chelsea and Todd Boehly have been busier than most clubs in the transfer market. After more than £250m was splashed in the summer, an additional £270m was spent in the January transfer window with attacking reinforcements Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix and Noni Madueke all joining the Blues.
Boehly's mass overhaul at SW6 means Potter has a number of difficult decisions to make in his team selection, with a host of young stars costing heavy transfer fees or signing lengthy deals. However, despite the outpour of new talent, the Chelsea boss has been told exactly why he should entrust Sterling.
Newcastle and England defender Kieran Trippier has labelled his compatriot as one of the best players he's played with and has claimed that Sterling doesn't receive the praise he deserves. When asked about the best he's played with, Trippier told Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE: “Harry Kane is incredible. I’m a big fan of Stonesy (John Stones), he’s top. Koke at Atletico Madrid. Great leader, great on the ball, top pro. Raheem Sterling as well, I’ve played against him and he’s brilliant.”
He added on the Blues forward: “His sharpness. He’s given me a torrid time a couple of times, especially in the Champions League. With and without the ball he’s so smart, so intelligent. The numbers he racked up when he was at City I don’t think it’s spoken about."
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