Sterling’s Future At Man City Is Uncertain As He Failed To Perform As No 9

The England forward could play for almost any team in Europe but cannot find a home in Pep Guardiola’s best XI

He has never been more crucial to his country, but for his club, Raheem Sterling remains in a state of flux.

The emergence of Phil Foden as a wide forward and Riyad Mahrez’s assimilation to life at Manchester City saw Sterling fall down the pecking order of importance in Pep Guardiola’s meticulously-prepared plans last season.

And despite being England’s standout player at Euro 2020, things have not got much better this time around.

With no new striker brought in this summer to replace the outgoing Sergio Aguero, City have been holding open auditions for stand-in strike figureheads so far this term. Ferran Torres sailed through to judges’ houses, while Bernardo Silva’s spot in the live shows is assured.

Sterling’s turn came on Saturday against a Southampton side who must have been fearing another humiliating trip to Manchester, but after failing to impress in that central role, the England forward may need to rethink his act altogether.

As the goals have flowed this season, a summer chasing Harry Kane’s tail and being tormented by Jorge Mendes has been quickly forgotten at the Etihad.

The goals have been shared around with Torres the only City player with more than a single strike to his name in the Premier League this season. The Spain international’s performances have meant Gabriel Jesus, somewhat surprisingly given he is the club’s only recognised No 9, has been moved out to a wide right position. Pep will be Pep.

Jesus’ new-found role has only added further traffic to Sterling’s path back to the forefront of his manager’s ever-evolving setup. With Torres having done his convincing, City’s attack was pivoted around Sterling for the first time this campaign on Saturday.

The service, albeit not as penetrative in its nature as it often is, was still plentiful. Eleven cutbacks were attempted across Saints’ embattled backline, while 15 open play crosses were whipped into the middle. Sterling could not make any of them count.

He was not deployed in some Pep-like “False 9” to try to deceive Saints. Sterling was positioned like any central striker would be – a look at his average position shows he was further forward than any other team-mate. It is just he offered next to no threat all match.

Moving Sterling into a central role spoke of how Guardiola is struggling to fit the England star into his thinking. Jack Grealish was not signed to sit on the bench, while Foden’s return to fitness should see him take the other wide forward spot in City’s strongest XI.

Bernardo Silva looked set to depart this summer, but his unwillingness to give up the City ghost has brought him back in favour. Then there is Mahrez to fit in somewhere, Jesus sniffing around, and in-form Torres hard to ignore.

With all that competition, limp showings like Sterling’s against Saints will not go unnoticed. When asked about Sterling’s performance after the match, the response from his manager was hardly glowing.

“He was active in terms of movement,” Guardiola said. “But football depends a lot on how good we do the process in the build-up and when it happens our strikers and wingers play better.

“Today we struggled a bit. He was always dangerous and ready to try to do it.”

Being ready to try isn’t going to keep a British record signing, the Stockport Iniesta or any one of forwards who have proven their worth out of the team.

Where this latest setback leaves Sterling is unclear. There is no doubting his ability, he would walk into most other top teams in Europe. But with the players ahead of him in his natural wide forward position, a City future, if there is going to be one, could have to be fulfilling a different function.

Guardiola tried to see the feasibility of doing just that on Saturday and learned next to nothing.

Points dropped at home against Southampton will not be taken lightly by the Spaniard, and neither will Sterling’s central striker audition.

Sterling’s season has fundamentally started as his last one finished, with his future in Manchester as unclear as it ever has been

Edet Esah

A content writer - blogger and sports analyst