Mauricio Pochettino explains how £50m Chelsea man is giving the team balance
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has acknowledged that he has a very young team.
In an ideal world, Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he would prefer to have a more experienced squad.
At the same time, though, the Argentine feels that Raheem Sterling is helping to give his side a bit of balance. Pochettino was speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea‘s game against Crystal Palace tonight, with The Athletic sharing his quotes.
Sterling is one of the most experienced players in the Blues’ current squad.
The £50m winger (BBC Sport) is now 29 years of age, has made over 350 appearances in the Premier League and earned more than 80 caps for England.
Raheem Sterling giving Chelsea team balance
While this Chelsea team is a very young one, Pochettino feels there is still a good balance because of players like Sterling and Thiago Silva.
Speaking about his side, the 51-year-old said: “I am not picking the team because they are young. I don’t want to be the coach that picks the youngest team in England. But it is true.
“They are a young team, we have young players. But we have a good balance because we have players like Silva or Sterling, players like that.”
Raheem Sterling could lose place in Chelsea team
Sterling has complemented Chelsea’s youth with experience for most of the season.
Under Pochettino, the England international has started 19 of the Blues’ 23 games in the Premier League.
However, the goals have started to dry up for Sterling, with the former Manchester City man having not scored in the top flight for a while now, and he was dropped for Chelsea’s last game.
Pochettino opted to start Nicolas Jackson on the left instead and he managed to net, which should be a worry for Sterling.
Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot also thinks he needs to show more leadership on the pitch.