‘Look them in the eye’: International manager wants to speak with Chelsea player about his club form

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Gareth Southgate would like to chat with Raheem Sterling about his form at Chelsea.

As quoted by the Evening Standard, the England boss brought up the need to speak with Sterling once the pair begin preparations for Qatar.

The last month or so has admittedly been a struggle for Chelsea’s forward.

He had to transition from Thomas Tuchel’s tactics to Graham Potter’s philosophy pretty quickly following the sacking of the former in September.

Although Sterling has played all but one of Potter’s 13 games in charge, his role in the side has differed regularly.

The 27-year-old has often found himself in an unfamiliar wing-back role, only to return to a more advanced position.

This has led to a downturn in performances and goal contributions.

Since the 1^st of October, he’s scored just once across all competitions.

Not ideal provisions for the World Cup, which kicks off in just over a weeks’ time.

Sterling will be on the plane to Qatar, but the pressure is on him more than most to excel at the tournament.

Southgate to chat with Sterling

Southgate trusts the Chelsea attacker, as he is yet to let him down at international level.

But to retrieve the player of old, a serious conversation clearly must be had.

“The first thing is always to sit and talk to players and look them in the eye and find out what is going on. Raheem has had a change of club and his scoring at the start was very good,” said the Three Lions manager.

“He has had three managers in a short space of time if you go back to [Manchester] City. There is a lot to take on for a player when they move club.

“Of course, we expect instant transfer of performance on the pitch, but there can be many reasons (why that is not the case).

“We have a few players in that sort of situation and I have to work out how they look on the training pitch and how they are within themselves.”

Sterling’s showing at the European Championships last summer will be the bench mark for his contribution this time around.

He was named in the team of the tournament, having started every game and netted three times.

The world is watching Raheem, the stage is yours to set alight once more.