Thomas
Tuchel said Raheem Sterling's £47.5m signing from rivals Manchester City was
Chelsea's "No 1 priority" back in July. Less than four months later, Tuchel
is gone and working out how to get the best from the 27-year-old is fast
becoming Graham Potter's No 1 concern.
Tuchel was understandably enthused by the capture of a four-time Premier
League winner from a fellow big-six side and highlighted the "flexibility,
mobility and attacking options at the front" the 27-year-old would add to
his side.
Tuchel's replacement Potter has spoken similarly of Sterling since taking
the reins at Stamford Bridge, praising his "flexibility, ability and quality
to play in several positions."
But whereas his predecessor immediately installed Sterling into the attack,
Potter has utilised the England international's tactical versatility by
deploying him in a variety of positions - including wing-back.
Even while the head coach enjoyed a nine-game unbeaten run at the start of
his Chelsea career, his use of Sterling raised eyebrows. Whether playing as
a winger, a striker or as a wing-back, the fact remains that Sterling has
just one goal and one assist under Potter.
Why has Sterling been playing at
wing-back?
After spending the majority of his seven years at City as a winger, Sterling
has not only had to adapt to a new club but also a range of new positions
following his return to London with Chelsea.
The former QPR youngster initially lined up as a false nine in Tuchel's
3-4-3 system before finding himself playing as part of a front two alongside
Kai Havertz once the head coach switched to a 4-4-2.
The tweak seemed to suit Sterling who, after going scoreless in his first
three games, then scored three times in his next two matches.
But Potter's arrival has seen Sterling moved again, with deployments at both
right and left wing-back - as well as a role in the front three - as the
former Brighton boss has largely reverted Chelsea to a three-at-the-back
formation.
As well as wanting to take advantage of Sterling's "flexibility", Potter
also cited injuries as a reason for his use of Sterling. The head coach
admitted "it's not straightforward with losing the players we have" and that
he is "constantly trying to find the right balance."
Potter has had to cope with the losses of Reece James, Wesley Fofana and
N'Golo Kante, with the absence of James - Chelsea's only true right
wing-back - causing a particular headache.
Sterling was the first player tasked with replacing James but that
experiment was ended after only 45 minutes at Aston Villa. In the four
matches since, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Cesar Azpilicueta have each started
one match at right wing-back, while Christian Pulisic has started there
twice. It's clear that Potter is still searching for the best way to cope
with the loss of James.
Since that afternoon at Villa Park, Sterling's action at wing-back has
instead largely come on the left. His first game there was at home to Red
Bull Salzburg in Potter's first game - when James started on the opposite
flank - and three of Sterling's last four appearances have come in that
role. That is despite Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella - two natural left
wing-backs - being available.
There is, of course, an element of Potter still getting to grips with a
Chelsea squad he inherited just a week after the closure of a transfer
window that saw the Blues sign eight first-team players. The 47-year-old has
also been deprived of time to work with his squad on the training pitch due
to the compressed schedule as a result of the winter World Cup, meaning many
tactical experiments have had to be carried out in public view on match
days.
Clues to Potter's tactical ideas upon joining Chelsea were also on show
during his time at Brighton, when he often switched between three and
four-man defences and helped to turn wingers like Solly March and Leandro
Trossard into wing-backs.
After Sterling's first outing as a wing-back in the 1-1 home draw with
Salzburg, Potter said the Austrians' ability to "block the middle" was
behind his use of the former City player.
Salzburg played in a 4-3-1-2 formation, meaning Sterling had no winger to
contend with, while Villa's 4-3-2-1 and Brentford's 3-5-2 - in theory -
provided similar opportunities for him to use his attacking talents in
one-on-one match-ups with opposition defenders.
In the two matches against AC Milan and for the visit of Manchester United -
teams that do play with wingers - it was telling that Potter moved Sterling
back into the attack and played more orthodox defenders at wing-back.
Has Potter's experiment worked?
It's fair to wonder whether Potter regrets lining Sterling and Pulisic up as
wing-backs at Brighton on Saturday, when the head coach's return to the
south coast ending in a humbling 4-1 defeat to his former club.
The two wingers had played in similar roles in the 2-1 win at Salzburg a few
days earlier, which perhaps provided Potter with the confidence to stick
with such a bold plan at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton had regularly used a 3-4-3 formation under Potter's successor
Roberto De Zerbi which, if repeated, meant Sterling would again be able to
push into the final third from wing-back, safe in the knowledge there was no
winger waiting to pounce in the space he had vacated.
However, De Zerbi moved to a 4-2-3-1 for the visit of Chelsea, which
appeared to catch the visitors out as Brighton swarmed all over them in the
opening exchanges. By the time Sterling was withdrawn, the Blues were well
on their way to a heavy defeat.
Before their clash with the Seagulls, Chelsea had conceded just four times
in their nine matches under Potter, which suggests his tactical chopping and
changing didn't have an adverse effect on his team's defensive performances.
But has Potter's tinkering negatively impacted Sterling? The table below
shows he registers fewer goals, assists and take-ons per 90 minutes from
wing-back than he does when playing in a more advanced role.
However, the difference in Sterling's output when looking at these metrics
isn't as stark as could perhaps be expected - with the exception of the fact
he is yet to complete a take-on from wing-back. But he has managed to record
more shots and final-third passes from a more withdrawn role, showing his
attacking output hasn't been hugely reduced by Potter's experiment.
What is more concerning for Chelsea is how greatly Sterling's attacking
output has declined since he left City. The table below shows his totals for
goals, assists, shots, completed take-ons and final-third passes have all
dropped since he swapped the Etihad Stadium for Stamford Bridge.
Should England be concerned?
Given the fitness concerns surrounding Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kyle
Walker-Peters, plus Gareth Southgate's apparently lukewarm feelings towards
Trent Alexander-Arnold, it will be interesting to see whether the England
manager takes note of Sterling's performances at wing-back ahead of the
World Cup.
The mixed results produced in that position by Sterling - no one's idea of a
natural defender - may not encourage Southgate to copy Potter's blueprint,
particularly given he is on record as saying Alexander-Arnold's lack of
opportunities at right wing-back are at least in part due to his "all-round
game" being behind his rivals'.
But the more obvious reason for Southgate snubbing Sterling as a wing-back
is that he will already be penned in as a key component of the attack in
Qatar. The former Liverpool player has 79 caps and 19 goals for his country
- the majority of which have come under Southgate - and was named in UEFA's
team of the tournament at Euro 2020, when he played exclusively in the
forward line.
There are parallels to be drawn between Sterling's current situation and the
one in which he found himself going into that tournament. In the summer of
2021, Sterling was coming off a season with City that saw him record his
lowest combined goals and assists total in five years, while he missed out
on the starting XI in all but two of the team's knockout matches on their
way to the Champions League final.
While Sterling's place in Chelsea's team remains safe, his performances are
again being questioned in the build up to a major international tournament.
Southgate and England will be hoping he can respond the way he did 18 months
ago - by helping to inspire the team all the way to the final.
How does Sterling bounce back?
Given Sterling's output in a Chelsea shirt hasn't drastically differed
depending on his position, it cannot be as simple as saying that restoring
him to a regular role in the attack will bring about a revival of his
fortunes. Potter also needs to be given leeway regarding his selections as
he gets to grips with a new squad amid a hectic fixture schedule.
While Sterling said after joining Chelsea that he was excited to work "under
Thomas [Tuchel]'s management" he has been positive about Potter's use of him
as a wing-back, saying he "enjoyed" the role and that "over time it'll get
better" following the draw against Salzburg.
But the fact remains that, in over 450 senior club appearances, Sterling has
started fewer than a dozen of those as a wing-back - some of which came
under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool the best part of a decade ago.
Since the start of the 2017/18 season, only three players (Mohamed Salah,
Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy) have scored more Premier League goals than
Sterling, who spent the majority of that time as a left-winger under Pep
Guardiola at City.
With Chilwell and Cucurella more natural options at left wing-back,
redeploying Sterling as an attacker is easily done. Being offered a more
consistent and familiar role in the side would surely help Sterling to adapt
to Chelsea - and to Potter - after so long under Guardiola's spell in
Manchester.
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