Gareth Southgate believes it’s just a matter of time before Raheem Sterling starts scoring for England.
Sterling has been a real threat in the opponent attacking third for Manchester City and had a breakthrough last season as he found the net 23 times last season but he hasn’t been able to replicate his performance in a Three Lions shirt.
The former Liverpool forward has been in the thick of actions for Pep Guardiola this season and also played a pivotal part as City cruised to the Premier League title last season.
The youngster hasn’t really burst out since making his England debut as he has just two goals from 44 appearances for the Three Lions. But Southgate is expecting a better output in near future. “In simplistic terms we are just waiting for him to add goals to everything else he’s producing.
“His level of performance with us has been really good, but the one missing piece is his finishing. If he had scored twice at the World Cup everyone would have been viewing his tournament in a much more positive way.
“But he knows how much we think of him and what a valuable part of the team we feel he is. Hopefully that’s the most important thing for him and I am confident he can transfer that into his performances.
“He’s desperate to do well with England because it has been a big part of his career from 17 up. He was able to stretch defences in the summer with his speed and that caused them problems. He found really clever pockets of space that overloaded the midfield. He works incredibly hard without the ball in our team.
“He was able to stretch defences in the summer with his speed and that caused them problems. He found really clever pockets of space that overloaded the midfield. He works incredibly hard without the ball in our team.”
