Sterling and his potential FPL impact
We look at the impact that new Chelsea signing Raheem Sterling could have on FPL (Fantasy Premier League). Using previous data and positioning we can see where Sterling could be deployed in the Chelsea attack, how effective he could be and how often he could play.
Sterling has had a long and successful career playing in the Premier League. This has not always translated well into FPL. Managers playing the game this season will need some assurance of minutes and a good idea of how effective he could be.
Sterling Joins Chelsea
Sterling is now officially a Chelsea player after signing from current champions Man City for a fee of £45m plus £10m of add-ons as you can see below. A big money signing that Tuchel himself hand picked. Already an indication of how important Sterling will be for the Chelsea manager.
Potential position
Sterling has shown the versatility to play on both sides of a front three, left and right. For England recently playing predominantly on the left where most believe he is most effective. Whilst at Man City although being utilised on the right often his heatmaps from the season gone highlight that Sterling does spend most of his time attacking from the left.
Sources suggested that Tuchel told Sterling he wants to utilise him on the left this season. That was reflected straight away in his debut against FC Charlotte when he came on. The winger impressed fans with a couple of bursts of pace and coming close to scoring. Take a look to see how Tuchel viewed Sterling’s debut performance here.
Career numbers
It is well known how successful Sterling has been in terms of silverware. Scoring 131 goals and creating 74 assists in he meantime shows a real balance of both goal threat and distribution. Something FPL managers look for in the best FPL assets is multiple routes to points and this can be reflected in his overall stats.
Chelsea
Although failing to make a title challenge Chelsea still managed to rack up some great stats as a whole. With the help of the Fantasy Football Scout Members Area we can see that last season Chelsea were:
- Third for chances created
- Third for opposition half passing
- Second for final third passing
- Third for total attempts on goal
- Fourth for big chances total
- Third for goals scored
This shows that Chelsea are still up there with some of the best teams in the league for both creating chances and scoring. Everything we need in a team to invest in when looking at attacking assets.
Sterling 21/22
In terms of basic stats Sterling managed 30 starts for Man City last season scoring 13 goals and creating five assists. This resulted in 18 attacking returns in that period, not a far cry away from being a very good FPL asset.
His underlying data amongst midfielders was also pretty impressive considering the inconsistent game time, Sterling managed more shots in the box and more big chances total than any other Man City attacker. This suggests although his basic goals and assist numbers aren’t as great as they can be the potential right is right there in front of him.
Position Competition
Last season for Chelsea Werner and Pulisic were the main candidates covering the left side of the attack. Both players showed extreme inconsistency and were even tried in other positions. The lack of solid competition does indicate his game time is safe.
Another factor in why Sterling left Man City was the lack of game time. Presuming there was assurances from manager Tuchel regarding his playing time Sterling seems a safe bet to play most matches. He also helps himself in that he is so versatile, being able to play on the right gives him even more reasoning to play.
Summary
Sterling has shown fantastic numbers overall since playing in the Premier League. Becoming Chelsea’s main threat and lots of responsibility could really give Sterling the confidence back to hit his true potential in FPL again.
At £10m in the game Sterling comes in at a cheaper price than the likes of Son, Kane, Kevin De Bruyne and rightly so because they’ve all been more consistent then the new Chelsea signing. However we have seen Sterling hit premium numbers before and with the potential already there FPL managers could put their trust in the attacker especially in periods of great fixtures for Chelsea.
For more relevant articles take a look at our FPL section here.
