There was a statistic that emerged after Raheem Sterling scored against Borussia Dortmund the other week – the night when it felt as though the tide had finally turned for Chelsea manager Graham Potter and his players – that showed quite how impressive his career has been.
Not even Wayne Rooney, who is the country’s leading goal-scorer in the competition, with 30 – a figure Sterling is not far from overtaking, currently with 27, and likely do so, still only 28 years old.
But the injury that has caused him to miss out on Gareth Southgate’s first England squad since being knocked out in the World Cup quarter-finals could not have come at a worse time. Southgate said he would have selected Sterling had he been fully fit, but Southgate’s England squads can be an unforgiving place.
Look at the six forwards he has chosen and it is an extraordinarily strong group, full of goals and talent.
You obviously don’t ignore Harry Kane. But, equally, how do you ignore the form of Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford? How do you ignore the creativity and brilliance of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish?
And, though he is the obvious choice to make way for a fully-fit Sterling, can you ignore Ivan Toney’s goals – 16 in the Premier League this season for Brentford, a team you would not necessarily associate with the league’s top scorers – for much longer, when goals is an area Sterling so often struggles with.
And this is without Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who Southgate has tested and liked before, and who has scored six in seven games. Or Solly March, who is excelling for Brighton. James Maddison could even stake a claim, although he has been included in the midfielders list.
Selecting the forwards for the England squad list is like juggling with hedgehogs that have been set on fire – just waiting to be burnt or pricked at any moment.
Southgate must weigh all the positive attributes and strengths of the others against Sterling’s reliability for him on the big occasions. Most recently, his two goals in the Euro 2020 group stage that were England’s only two strikes and secured progression.
But at the World Cup in Qatar did Sterling’s reliability wane for the first time? A goal-scorer in the first game – one of five against Iran – but substituted a little after an hour against the USA in a goalless draw, unused against Wales. Then left out of the squad that beat Senegal after he missed most of training due to returning home after a break-in at his house, then only a late substitute in the defeat to France.
Southgate has stuck by Sterling before in periods of poor club form, when he was playing little for Manchester City. But Sterling will know that faith and trust fade to nothing, eventually, in football, if not supported by performances. He will know he must improve his goal-scoring return. He has only seven goals in 27 club appearances this season and in the past few years others are fast overtaking him in that regard.
He sits eighth on the list of most Premier League goals scored by English players since August 2021: behind Kane, with 37, Toney, 28, Maddison, 21, Saka, 21, Watkins 20, Foden, 18, Rashford 18. Sterling has 17.
Such is the quality of Southgate’s attacking options, a player who will undoubtedly become the top-scoring Englishman in the Champions League still has to fight for a place.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/C01cZRE
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