We all await the start of the new season and the FPL managers are back scratching their heads. The dilemma to choose the right player continues and the transfers just do not aid the cause. While some enjoy the transfer moves, others have an additional problem to solve. One such player whose move has definitely grabbed the attention of all the FPL managers is the English winger, Raheem Sterling. The Englishman travels to London for a new challenge as Chelsea and Manchester City agreed to a £47 million move. The player this season is available at £10 million, his cheapest FPL price since 2017/18.
Sterling, now 27, has stats to back his legacy in the Premier League as the Englishman has racked up 109 goals in the league in addition to his 77 assists in his 11 seasons. The in-game listed midfielder provides the managers with a cheaper option for the likes of Salah, Son and Kevin De Bruyne. To his backing, Sterling has one of the most touches in the opposition box in the previous seasons, just increasing his chances to be on the scoring sheet more often. Last season he registered 13 touches inside the 6-yard-box which is just bettered by Jota and Soucek. At Chelsea, he can expect a similar number of deliveries from Reece James and Ben Chilwell, on the flanks. Sterling has converted 63 of the 129 great chances created by his teammates, a record almost nearing that of Salah (£13 M) and better than Mahrez and Bernardo Silva.
Raheem has more often been criticized for his finishing and has missed 69 good chances in the Premier League. But one can not divert from the fact that the likes of Harry Kane (£11.5 M) and Salah (£13 M) have missed more in the same time period. The other criticism around Sterling suggests that he marginally betters his xG when compared to elite players in a similar position, such as the likes of Son (£12 M) but to his backing, his average shot-taken-range is much less than that of the others and thus the xG stat for all his shots always remains high, giving him less credit for each of his conversions. Also, Chelsea fans will not at all be disappointed after witnessing a great number of misses in recent seasons from the likes of Lukaku and Morata.
Raheem will finally be out of Pep’s rotation policy and this could be a delight for the managers as the Englishman has a very high chance to feature for Thomas Tuchel’s side more than often. He can assume the left side of the front very well with Chelsea recently struggling to find the perfect player in the position. He can even be deployed as the false 9 in Tuchel’s system, a position where the Englishman has been used by Pep for a number of games. Chelsea has not scored at the levels of Manchester City in recent seasons but Raheem will be given a consistent run this season, which could be a safety for the FPL managers. His injury record suggests that the player has hardly missed any matches and thus will not burden the FPL managers every game week.
With a current ownership of 7.6%, the player could be the differential at the start of the season with his ownership to definitely go high over the course of the season.
