Raheem Sterling still has plenty of improvement to come, according to Fabian Delph – and his Manchester City and England team-mate will not be shy in letting him know about it.
Sterling was a standout performer as Pep Guardiola s side won an unprecedented domestic treble this season, scooping the Football Writers Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year award.
A brace in the 6-0 FA Cup demolition of Watford took the 24-year-old to 25 goals in all competitions for his club in 2018-19, a campaign where he also emphatically turned a corner at international level.
Despite his best efforts, Sterling s England goal drought remained stubbornly intact throughout the run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
He has since scored six times in five starts for the Three Lions, including a Wembley hat-trick in a 5-0 Euro 2020 qualification thrashing of the Czech Republic.
As doubts over Harry Kane s match fitness persist, Sterling indisputably approaches what will be his 50th England cap in Thursday s Nations League Finals encounter against Netherlands in Guimaraes as Gareth Southgate s most important and potent attacking threat.
When we both signed he was 19 and he looked like a little baby, said Delph, who joined City from Aston Villa during the same 2015 close-season when Sterling secured his exit from Liverpool.
People always questioned what type of player he d be and whether he d go to the next level, but I was like, This kid has everything. Once he finds his path and what works for him you re going to see something incredible .
I think the sky s the limit. Right now, he s one of the best players in the world. And while I m still with him, or while I m still in contact with him, I m going to be pushing him daily because I know he s got another 20 per cent in him.
INCR3DIBL3
Such a special way to end the season !!! Today was just fantastic, a top performance from the whole team
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7)
It was also a season where Sterling s articulate and impressive response to suffering racist abuse placed him at the forefront of football s fight to tackle a sickening stain on the game.
Superb performances continued unchecked and Delph identifies a level of mental strength virtually unparalleled in his experience.
He s got the strongest mindset I ve ever come across in football, the 29-year-old midfielder said. Vincent Kompany is another one, he is very strong mentally.
Nothing fazes Raheem, he is very confident in himself. He s a great person and very dedicated to his craft. I ve watched him mature a lot over the years, he s still the same guy who I met when he was 19.
The only difference is people are paying attention to what type of person he is and trying to know Raheem a little more. Everyone can see how kind and humble and what a good player he is.
Looking sharp,
— England (@England)
Delph is unable to match Sterling s tale of personal success at City this season, having found first-team opportunities scarce since the turn of the year.
Southgate made him captain for England s friendly against the United States last November and he retains his place in the squad as an influential dressing-room presence – something a lack of game time at club level has not tempered.
I can be very emotional, so when it s the build-up to a game, I enjoy that side of trying to help push the team and get them fired up, Delph, whose behind-the-scenes rants made him a star of City s All or Nothing Amazon documentary last year, explained.
I ve always been the same at City. To be fair, I was a nightmare when I was 18, 19 – an absolute nightmare. Six stone wet through and screaming at big ugly centre-halves.
He added: The second half of the season I never played. But every time it s a home game and I m there, I m ranting and raving and speaking to people one-to-one, effing and jeffing, getting the team going. It s the way I ve always been and will probably never change.
