Reason why Sterling is not highly ranked among the best in the world and his switch to premier League rivals
Why England International Raheem Sterling Is Underrated?
According to reports, it is viewed that Sterling poor finishing in front of goal caused the reason why he’s underrated.
It is rare for a player to move between two top Premier League clubs at his peak – and rarer still that such a switch would be met with such ambivalence.
Why is Raheem Sterling’s proposed transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea seen this way?
City supporters seem relaxed about his future. That is surprising given that Sterling has scored, on average, 22 goals for the club across the past five seasons. Only Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero – just four ahead – have scored more goals under Pep Guardiola.
But Chelsea fans are not greeting the reports with glee either. Sterling is 27 and has demonstrated that he can thrive in any position across the front three.
What does it tell us about how the player is perceived that it is not being heralded as a major coup?
It suggest Sterling is seriously underrated.
Many theories have been floated as to why this might be the case. Given that Sterling has been a noted victim of racial abuse, himself highlighting the disparity in how young black and white players are portrayed in the media, that aspect should not be ignored.
But while a myriad of reasons make up the whole, there may be a more prosaic explanation that is driving the devaluation of Sterling. It is possible that people misunderstand the difficulty of finishing – and this misunderstanding affects Sterling more than most.
There are YouTube compilations dedicated to his close-range misses. Despite scoring 131 goals for the club, even City fans have been infuriated at times by this perceived unreliability in front of goal, exacerbated by some high-profile opportunities being squandered.