Sterling’s City move the making of the man

Raheem Sterling was criticised in some circles for “taking the money” when leaving Liverpool for Manchester City but his game has improved tenfold. The 24-year-old made his name at Anfield, scoring 23 goals from 129 appearances, but he was far from the finished article.
Doubts remained over his ability in the final third, with wasted crosses and poor finishing seeing pundits question whether or not he was the real deal.
Fast forward to 2019 and the man born in Jamaica is the first name on the City teamsheet and has 55 England caps to his name.
Those who felt his move to the Etihad Stadium was purely financial are conspicuous by their silence now as Sterling is one of the top talents in European football.
Not only has he developed under Pep Guardiola as a provider, he has added goals to his game and netted another hat-trick as the Citizens demolished Atalanta 5-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
That took his tally for the season to 12 in 13 games, while he has eight in eight this year for the Three Lions.
It was not that he was a poor player with Liverpool and had superstars around him, but the move to Manchester has changed everything for the former Queens Park Rangers youth star.
Guardiola was gushing about his forward after watching City beat the Italians, saying: “He can play both sides and he is fast so, defensively, he helps us a lot. He is an extraordinary, extraordinary player.”
It does appear Sterling is now the complete player and it is impossible to put a value on him should one of the Spanish giants come calling.
However, it is open to debate as to whether he would want to leave as it seems likely he will be able to achieve all he wants with his present employers.
A couple of Premier League titles and one FA Cup crown are already on his CV although all at the club crave Champions League glory.
The Sky Blues are riding high at the top of their group after three straight victories and look set to breeze into the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
That is where they have stumbled in recent times, crashing out to eventual finalists Tottenham on the away-goals rule in last season’s quarter-finals.
They will want to put that right in 2019-20 and with Sterling in his current form it would be a brave man to bet against them.