Wayne Rooney has a warning for Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling ahead of the World Cup
Speaking to The Times (Subscription Required) [h/t Metro], England legend Wayne Rooney has warned Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling that Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka could take his place in the Three Lions side for the World Cup.
It seems as if both Saka and Sterling are fighting for the same spot in Gareth Southgate’s team. While Rooney says that it would be hard not to select the latter, the former could be an option as well.
The Arsenal winger is having a great season so far, with four goals and six assists in 14 league appearances, helping the Gunners five clear at the top of the table going into the World Cup break. Sterling, on the other hand, has had a rough ride since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in the summer. The 27-year-old has just three goals and one assist in 12 league appearances.
Here’s what Rooney said about the duo (h/t Metro):
“On the right, it’s a difficult one. For England, Sterling has been very good and Saka is a top player, so I would play either of them off the right.
“I played many games with Sterling and he improved a lot. Working with Pep Guardiola at City improved him tactically and he has become good at the simple things, which maybe he wasn’t before.
“Saka puts Sterling under pressure, though. He plays with no fear and we’ve been talking about players not being in club form, but he is the opposite: he has been in great form for Arsenal.”
There is no doubt that Sterling’s form hasn’t been great since changing clubs before the start of this season. Chelsea not playing well and having a change in the manager hasn’t helped either.
But, the former Liverpool player is an experienced campaigner having represented England in multiple tournaments. If we go back to the Euros last year, Sterling had an excellent time in that event even though his league form preceding that wasn’t up to the mark.
Southgate generally picks his team on reputation and experience. He would change his ideology drastically by not starting Sterling in the first game of the World Cup against Iran.
It would be up to the 27-year-old to take that chance with both hands and show the world that form can be temporary, but his quality as a player is going to shine bright in Qatar.
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He is in his prime years and would want to make the most of it in Qatar. Hopefully, Southgate retains his faith in him. The former Middlesbrough recently stated that he was going to have one-on-one talks with Sterling to discuss his poor Chelsea form – which could be worrying when it comes to Sterling’s place in England’s starting XI.