Raheem Sterling has claimed that the current period he is experiencing at Chelsea is one of the lowest points of his career.
However, the England international added that he hopes to use this as a learning curve. Chelsea are 12th in the league with a paltry tally of 39 points from 33 games.
They are out of all cup competitions and are on a six-game losing run across competitions under caretaker boss Frank Lampard. Relegation from the Premier League is still a mathematical possibility, albeit a very small one.
The Englishman was allowed to leave the Etihad and joined Chelsea last summer for a fee of £47.5 million. However, his first season at Stamford Bridge has been far from impressive.
Sterling has mustered just seven goals and three assists in 34 games across competitions so far. Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Queens Park Rangers academy player said, via ESPN:
“Personally, this is one of the lowest points in my career. This might sound a bit weird, but it is also a great learning curve. It’s been pretty smooth sailing winning, winning and winning but sometimes in life stuff gets thrown at you and it is a challenge that I’m looking forward to, hitting it head on and not trying to hide from it.
He added:
“It will only make me stronger and also the group stronger. These challenges, not in just football but life as well, it’s crucial to how we deal with things and how we kick on after.”
Sterling was accustomed to winning silverware regularly during his spell at the Etihad. He left Liverpool to join Manchester City in July 2015 as a 21-year-old and went on to win 12 domestic trophies, including four Premier League titles.
Chelsea caretaker boss backs Raheem Sterling to turn around his form
Chelsea’s caretaker manager Frank Lampard has offered his full support to struggling Blues star Raheem Sterling.
The English forward has scored just once in his past 13 appearances across competitions. However, Lampard believes his reputation will not threaten his position in the Chelsea starting XI – at least not right now.
The former Everton manager said before his team’s away league game against Bournemouth on Saturday (May 6), via Metro:
“Of course maybe the form of the team this season has not been great, so there can always be a lot of contributing factors to individual form. He’s got credit in the bank. Keep working, things around him falling more into place, I think with Raheem he’ll show what he’s shown in his career.”
Sterling signed a six-year deal last summer, so he has a lot of time left to turn around his career at Chelsea.