Raheem Sterling has not scored in his last seven Premier League appearances for Chelsea.
The 27-year-old has scored 5 goals in 18 appearances for Chelsea. Sterling has been playing as a wing-back in recent times for Chelsea under Graham Potter.
Manchester United icon Micah Richards has admitted that Raheem Sterling looks frustrated and confused under Graham Potter.
What did Micha Richards say about Raheem Sterling’s recent Chelsea struggles?
The pundit said on BBC Sports: “I still rate Raheem very highly but he looks a little lost.
“It’s like he is a bit frustrated in terms of Chelsea’s set-up and, tactically, does not know what they want him to do.
“Raheem joined another top club in Chelsea and it looked like the perfect move for him. But then they changed their manager and we have all seen the upheaval that has followed.
“After a manager signs you and says you are their top guy like Tuchel did with Sterling, it must be frustrating when a new manager comes in and wants to use you differently.
“Every player just wants to have some stability. I think he is in good hands with Potter – let’s make that clear – but it is down to him to get the best out of Sterling now.”
Raheem Sterling won four Premier League titles at Manchester City scoring 133 goals in 339 outings.
Explaining why Sterling was effective at Manchester City, he said: “The reason he was so effective at City was that he was part of a system that worked. He knew the system, and he fitted it because the runs he made were exactly what the team needed.
“City also played the same way, dominating the ball with 70-80% possession, every week, but now he is in a team who are in transition after changing managers, and seems to change formation all the time.
“The whole team are still figuring out how they play under Potter, so Sterling is not the only one who has to work that out.
“Using him in different positions hasn’t helped. Ideally I want to see him high and wide up the pitch, preferably on the left so he can go either way – inside or out – when he runs into the box.
“But whatever you call his role, you want him on the ball near goal, not in his own half having to run 60 or 70 yards to get a shooting opportunity.
“For City, he would always pick the ball up inside the opposition half. When he made his runs into the area, he knew the ball was coming because of the players they had in their team to provide for him.
“That’s not the case playing for Chelsea – he has to create things himself.”
Despite his poor form, Micah Richards believes Raheem Sterling will be an automatic starter for England at the World Cup.
He added: “You want your players to be in form, of course, but I think Gareth will stick with him this time too, and I can understand why after what he has done for him in the past.
“All season he has not been playing great but at least he is playing a lot, which is what he wanted when he left City.
“I would start him against Iran too, as part of a front three with Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane. He deserves that faith, after what he has done for England in the past.
“Let’s see how he does in the first game, and assess it after that. If he does nothing, then it might be time to rotate.
“But we have seen before how Raheem has responded after basically being written off for England, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him remind everyone just how good he is.”
