Rio Ferdinand urges Gareth Southgate to pick up Chelsea forward for England matches
Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has challenged Gareth Southgate to recall Chelsea star Raheem Sterling, who has been scintillating for the Blues.
Sterling has now been snubbed three times by the Three Lions manager, despite displaying a convincing performance for the Blues. Sterling has failed to make it into Southgate’s England squad for November matches.
On Sunday, Sterling was merciless against his old team, Manchester City, as the two teams finished the match in a 4–4 tie. The 28-year-old scored the first goal for Chelsea on the night.
His improvement in performance after struggling in his first campaign as a Chelsea player should be praised. The forward has four goals and two assists in 12 matches for the Blues.
However, this wasn’t enough for the England head coach to recall the forward for the November international games, but Ferdinand has asked Southgate to reconsider his decision, as he told Vibe with FIVE:
“Free Sterling. Free my guy, Raheem Sterling. I don’t know what he’s done; I don’t know whose nose he has put out of joint. I don’t know what’s happened,” he said. ”
“For him not to be in the England squad is beyond me. There’s a lot of talent; don’t get me wrong. But if we’re talking form, he’s got more goals and assists, more goal contributions than Rashford and Grealish put together.”
Right now, it seems like favouritism because Sterling has performed better than Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford by a wide margin. He is currently Chelsea’s best player after significantly honing his performance. He is also the top player in England, as he has consistently shown in major tournaments like the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Euro 2020.
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Given that Sterling will benefit from those matches by maintaining his momentum throughout the season, it defies logic for Southgate to refrain from calling him up for England matches. We cannot afford to comment further at this time, but let’s hope that Sterling keeps up his good form and Southgate selects him for Euro 2024.