This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Newcastle United loanee Ronaldo Aarons has hailed Raheem Sterling as an inspiration and put the Manchester City star in the same bracket as Kylian Mbappe.
What did he say?
Aarons is currently on loan at Wycombe Wanderers where he has scored twice so far. The 23-year-old, who, like Starling, was also born in Jamaica, has praised the Premier League star for his actions on and off the pitch over the past few years.
The City man is no doubt inspiring many young players right now. However, it seems even top names like Aarons are feeling the effects of the 24-year-old’s infectious presence these days.
The Chairboys man told The Guardian: “He is like superman right now.
“He’s matured and found his mojo. I’ve spoken to him about that [his form]. He said he’s learnt to ignore everyone else and focus on himself and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
“He is a massive, massive sort of role model to every kid like me. Raheem has been there and done it. Even though he is only a year older than me, which is crazy; it seems like he has been around for at least 10 years.
“I watch Raheem, Douglas Costa, [Kylian] Mbappé – I watch loads of players that play wide and score goals. I’ll watch clips at home or after training and I’ve got a match analyst that sends me my clips and shows me what I need to do.”
One of the best around
Sterling has certainly established himself as one of the best around over the past three seasons. For both club and country, the former Liverpool man is perhaps the first name on the teamsheet these days with his goalscoring record.
At City, Sterling now has an incredible 82 goals in 206 appearances, whilst he is England’s biggest threat with eight goals in the European Championship qualifiers.
Mbappe is perhaps slightly stronger in the goals department, as the Frenchman has a better ratio with 69 goals in 97 games. However, Sterling’s rise has been an inspirational one that his fellow professionals can only dream on.
The England star is continuing to improve and inspire the country with his actions both on and off the pitch.
Indeed, he is like superman.