Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has backed Raheem Sterling to play a key role for England at the Euros despite firing another blank for Manchester City at the weekend.
The 26-year-old has also struggled in the Premier League of late, starting just two of the Sky Blues’ last six. Sterling is no longer considered to be as integral a player as he once was by Guardiola.
Sterling started City’s recent Carabao Cup triumph at Wembley but squandered three big opportunities against Palace, blazing over early on before he sliced wide under pressure in the area and later in the game he hit the inside of the post from a tight angle.
The final effort summed up the luck of the former Liverpool forward, who has netted twice for England this season and found the net on 13 occasions for treble-chasing City.
Hodgson handed the 26-year-old an international debut as England manager in 2012 and is positive the winger can remain a key figure for Gareth Southgate at Euro 2020 next month.
“I am a great admirer of Raheem, I think he is a fine player. It is a wonderful position to be in if you’re Pep Guardiola that you believe you have other players you prefer to use to Raheem,’ Hodgson said.
“But I am pretty certain in terms of England, he will still be an important player and an important cog in the wheel because he has so much ability.
“The skillset he has and ability he has to beat people, get into goalscoring positions and score and set up chances, they are hard skillsets to find.
“And a great quality Raheem has got, and one I have always admired in him, is he is not a player who stays up there and waits for the ball to come to him.
“He makes certain he goes in search of it and when he loses it, he gets it back and plays an important role in the team’s defensive work.
“These are things we as coaches expect of our players these days, but it’s not always easy to get it.”
Roy Hodgson’s comments have got some Man City fans talking, who took to the social media to express yours thoughts and opinions.
Roy knows ball
— McfcFortune (@FortuneMcfc) May 2, 2021
Sterling is the best English winger Atm but hate and some bad moments would cloud some peeps judgment
— Zack (@VirgioRepulic) May 2, 2021
In recent years ? Definitely. On recent form ? Foden is miles away from him. And I'm a big supporter of Raz
— KDBallondor (@KDBallondor) May 2, 2021
Follow Us on Social media:
- ‘He was brilliant’… Pep Guardiola left absolutely blown away by £55m Man City player in 2-0 win vs Newcastle
- Jack Grealish now makes nine-word joke aimed at Bernardo Silva after Man City’s 2-0 win vs Newcastle
- Man City did something no other team has in FA Cup history after beating Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday
- Danny Murphy spots something brilliant Rodri did for Man City v Newcastle in the last few minutes
- Jeremy Doku shares what Pep Guardiola told his Man City players after Newcastle win
- 4 Things We Learned From Manchester City’s 2-0 Win Over Newcastle United
- Manchester City plot €100 million move for Bruno Guimaraes