Chris Sutton has stated that Man City attacker Raheem Sterling is a “world class” player after his double-header for England over the international break.
Sterling scored a hattrick in England’s 5-0 win over the Czech Republic on Friday and scored and set one up for Harry Kane in the 5-1 in against Montenegro on Monday night.
Writing in the Daily Mail Sutton heaped praise on Sterling and said that Real Madrid should make him their number one target.
“You have to say that Raheem Sterling is now world class,” Sutton wrote.
“If you were Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, surely you would want to buy him over Eden Hazard. Is there anything Sterling cannot do? His weight of pass is superb, his movement off the ball is lethal and he has become deadly in front of goal.
“What defender in the world would want to face Sterling in this form? It doesn’t matter if you take him on or back off — either way he will destroy you. He is still just 24 and improving year on year. His wonderful performances for England in the last two games have confirmed that he can thrive on the international stage.
“Sterling is one of the hottest properties in world football. If I was Real Madrid, I’d be making him my No1 target.”
OPINION
There was always the feeling that there was a world class player waiting to come through in Raheem Sterling. He never quite managed it at Liverpool, or in his first season at Man City. But, he has absolutely flourished under Pep Guardiola, who is quickly turning him into a goal machine. That just left his England stats to work on. In 47 games he had only scored four goals, which was a head scratcher given his form for Man City. However, he has now scored another four in just two games and the new Southgate approach to the England side seems tailor-made for Sterling. It seems laughable now that Arsenal hoped they might be able to get Sterling in exchange for Alexis Sanchez. That didn’t happen and there’s no chance that Sterling will leave the Etihad now for anything but a massive, massive fee. He’s also the player who could finally bring glory back to the England football team. His future, and that of Man City’s and England’s is very bright indeed.