Raheem Sterling pauses, having decided that his choice of word lacks the necessary meaning. The subject of conversation is his final year at Manchester City when, despite a consistent level of scoring, Sterling’s place within Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up began to disappear.
“It was a big surprise,” he says, before adding a little more spice: “It was a massive surprise . . . a change of events all of a sudden. It’s something I had to handle, and that’s why I’m here.”
On Thursday, on a sweltering summer’s afternoon, Sterling is sitting at Chelsea’s Cobham training base, almost a month after making the £50 million move from City. He has been here before, a long time ago, as a player at Queens Park Rangers’ academy
