Raheem Sterling to Man City: Where will Manuel Pellegrini play him?

With Raheem Sterling in at Manchester City, Adam Bate examines the tactical options that the youngster will bring to Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Where will he fit in?

"When I first worked with him he was fast and could play wide, now he can play in a number of positions… He's one of the most tactically gifted players I have worked with; how he presses the ball, how he gets up to the ball and his technique is wonderful. He's more than pace. What he has got for a young player is responsibility on the pitch." – Brendan Rodgers

Such is Sterling’s versatility – having played everywhere from right wing-back to centre forward for Liverpool – his arrival at Manchester City presents his new coach with a variety of options. While the £49m man is unlikely to be asked to resume wing-back duties, Pellegrini will be weighing up plenty of other possibilities…

Ready-made for the right wing?

Playing on the right in a 4-2-3-1 formation would be a good fit for Sterling and could also bring the best out of other key men at Manchester City too. One of City’s issues has been the conundrum of how to get the best from Sergio Aguero while retaining a solid defensive structure – a point made by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville in his Telegraph column.

"If you go to a 4-3-3, I believe you lose too much from Aguero’s game," claimed Neville. "Aguero is not as effective without a strike partner. He thrives with support. The problem with this system is it leaves Aguero upfront on his own which means he can become isolated." That could be rather less of a factor given Sterling’s interpretation of the role.

While Jesus Navas favours hogging the touch-line, Sterling is able to play more of a roaming role – supporting his striker by running beyond him to good effect. Navas failed to score in 2,248 minutes of Premier League action last season and while the new arrival is far from prolific, this compares unfavourably with Sterling’s scoring record of seven last term.

Can Sterling be a support striker?

Rodgers was encouraged by the scope for progress in Sterling’s goalscoring prowess, claiming that the player had worked hard on his finishing and praising him as a "great learner". He has some experienced playing as a forward and was used to lead the line in Daniel Sturridge’s absence as Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert faltered for the Reds.

"You get different types of striker," said Rodgers, in explaining the qualities Sterling brings to the role. "He's more of an Alexis Sanchez when he plays as a striker – he's not going to pin the defender. He plays in the spaces and he's got the speed to get in behind."

Aguero and Sterling are perhaps not such an obvious fit but both have the tools to hurt teams on the counter-attack – a feature of Liverpool at their best – and Aguero could potentially replicate the sort of link-up play that Luis Suarez enjoyed with the youngster.

Does this open up the 4-4-2 option?

Pellegrini endured criticism for employing the 4-4-2 formation in Europe with the move interpreted as evidence of surprising naivety from the veteran coach. The aforementioned concerns about getting the best from Aguero surely contributed to that move but it was the identity of the midfielders that made it flawed. Sterling’s arrival could change that.

"It is not the system that is to blame, but the characteristics of the players within it," said Neville. "I’ve played in great teams that made 4-4-2 work, but fundamental to its success is not only showing the desire to make things happen with the ball, but to be equally combative without it."

Sterling didn’t exactly relish being asked by Rodgers to operate at right wing-back, but the experience has given him a defensive awareness that could be of use to Pellegrini. It’s difficult, for example, to imagine Samir Nasri fulfilling the role so effectively.

Sterling not only boasts a better duel success than the Frenchman – 48 per cent compared to 37 per cent in 2014/15 – but he is also far more combative in his closing down. Sterling won 7.1 duels per 90 minutes last season compared to Nasri’s tally of 3.3 duels per 90.

Conclusion

While supporters and pundits alike will have plenty of fun speculating about how best to utilise City’s new signing, perhaps the real advantage of his arrival is that there need not be a definitive answer. A team that was in need of renewal now has a player capable of fitting into a number of formations. Sterling gives Pellegrini some high-quality options.