The England international is undergoing something of a renaissance under manager Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaks to Raheem Sterling
Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling can be moulded by manager Pep Guardiola into a legend for both club and country, he has told BT Sport.
Sterling has made an encouraging start to the new Premier League campaign, notching up three assists in the opening two games after previously failing to register one in the last 12 outings.
Having regained his creativity it can be said that Sterling is benefitting the most from the Guardiola regime so far.
Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling in action with Sunderland’s Donald Love
Ferdinand is a firm believer in the 21-year-old’s ability, and believes he can use this season as a benchmark to strive towards greatness for City and the England national team.
“Sterling is a player with huge potential and went for a huge fee. But you want to see progression and you want to see good progression very quickly,” he said to BT Sport.
“Under this manager [Guardiola] you would like to think that if he [Sterling] takes it all on board he could become a great player for not only Manchester City but for England too.”
Having made 10 assists and striking 14 times for both club and country, it can be said that Sterling endured a mixed 2015/16, and perhaps more was expected of him considering the £44m price tag that brought the former Liverpool man to the Etihad Stadium last summer.
He has made a good start to this campaign and will want to prove his critics wrong, after failing to impress towards the end of last season.
Former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand also expressed his concern as to whether City’s players can fully adapt to Guardiola’s style of play.
“Guardiola has a real signature way of playing football and you saw him implement that in his teams quickly, at Barcelona and Bayern Munich,” he continued.
“Are these players intelligent enough? Are they capable of taking on board his strategies and philosophies and putting it out onto the pitch?”
While it is perhaps too early to determine the extent to which Guardiola’s impact will be felt, the following campaign will serve as a perfect indication of where the Spaniard’s philosophies will be truly felt.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
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