Amongst the constant chaos at Chelsea was a sudden urgency to get rid of Raheem Sterling (£6.8m), Ben Chilwell (£4.9m), Trevoh Chalobah (£4.4m) and Conor Gallagher. That’s when Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta stepped in on deadline day, finding a Sterling reunion irresistible in the quest to finally dethrone Manchester City.
This Fantasy Premier League (FPL) veteran is still just 29 years old and seems delighted to be moving across London on a loan deal, now representing his fourth English giant.
So will the versatile attacker become a first-team mainstay and what impact will he have in FPL?
We’ll take a look during this Moving Target piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.
HISTORY
Born in Jamaica but raised in London, Sterling came through Queens Park Rangers’ academy until Liverpool prised him away in 2010.
Aged just 17 years and 107 days, he made his first-team debut for the Reds, going on to play a prominent role as Brendan Rodgers’ side narrowly missed out on 2013/14 Premier League glory.
On a personal level, it was enough to secure him the 2014 Golden Boy wonderkid award but there was a disappointing drop-off in Liverpool’s following campaign, finishing sixth.
| SEASON | CLUB | DIVISION | STARTS (SUB) | GOALS | ASSISTS | FPL POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Chelsea | Premier League | 22 (9) | 8 | 8 | 123 |
| 2022/23 | Chelsea | Premier League | 23 (5) | 6 | 4 | 101 |
| 2021/22 | Manchester City | Premier League | 23 (7) | 13 | 7 | 163 |
| 2020/21 | Manchester City | Premier League | 28 (3) | 10 | 9 | 154 |
| 2019/20 | Manchester City | Premier League | 30 (3) | 20 | 6 | 204 |
| 2018/19 | Manchester City | Premier League | 31 (3) | 17 | 15 | 234 |
| 2017/18 | Manchester City | Premier League | 29 (4) | 18 | 17 | 229 |
| 2016/17 | Manchester City | Premier League | 29 (4) | 7 | 14 | 149 |
| 2015/16 | Manchester City | Premier League | 23 (8) | 6 | 3 | 96 |
| 2014/15 | Liverpool | Premier League | 34 (1) | 7 | 10 | 158 |
| 2013/14 | Liverpool | Premier League | 24 (9) | 9 | 7 | 132 |
| 2012/13 | Liverpool | Premier League | 19 (5) | 2 | 6 | 82 |
That’s when Man City stepped in. During a more innocent time for transfer fees, the agreed price of up to £49 million ensured that Sterling became the most expensive English player in history.
And after a below-par first year, it’s fair to say that Sterling paid off that investment. Four league trophies, one FA Cup, five EFL Cups, four hat-tricks and three consecutive campaigns of more than 200 FPL points.
Sometimes a ‘Pep Roulette’ victim, we can see from this 2022 article that his minutes per appearance massively reduced in the seventh season. Then suddenly, with Erling Haaland (£15.2m) and Julian Alvarez signing in the summer of 2022, the time arrived for a new challenge.
| SEASON | STARTS (SUB) | MINS PER APPEARANCE | XG | XG DELTA | MINS PER XG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 23 (7) | 71.9 | 14.41 | -1.41 | 149.8 |
| 2020/21 | 28 (3) | 82.2 | 11.08 | -1.08 | 229.9 |
| 2019/20 | 30 (3) | 80.8 | 19.09 | +0.91 | 139.6 |
| 2018/19 | 31 (3) | 82.1 | 13.70 | +3.30 | 203.9 |
| 2017/18 | 29 (4) | 79.1 | 16.25 | +1.75 | 160.6 |
Maybe it’ll be a quiz question in future years: among the many, many transfers made during Todd Boehly’s time at Chelsea, who was the first?
The answer is Sterling, for £47.5 million. And it certainly hasn’t been the worst capture, as 14 league goals and 12 assists have arrived in two seasons.
An early brace versus Leicester City looked promising but only four more goals came in 2022/23, before a similar August haul against Luton Town got him underway for 2023/24. Some autumn form followed this up, scoring past Burnley, Man City and Newcastle United. But overall it’s been a difficult couple of seasons for him: fewer minutes than usual and several more managers.
WHERE STERLING PLAYS
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3 months, 12 days agoRoyston Drenthe