In a recent interview with The Sun, Raheem Sterling has disclosed that the Chelsea dressing room has been left speechless by their poor form this season and often “just sit in the changing room looking into space” after defeats.
Sterling, who was the first signing of the Todd Boehly era in a £50 million deal back in July, has failed to emulate the goal scoring form that made him a regular in Manchester City’s title-winning teams.
The England international has scored just four Premier League goals this campaign, compared to 78 league goals he scored across the last five seasons he spent in Manchester, hitting double figures in each of those years.
Unfortunately, his personal struggles in front of goal have mirrored those of his Stamford Bridge teammates this campaign.
Boehly has spent just shy of £550 million in transfer fees since taking charge at Stamford Bridge and has transformed the squad, with 13 players arriving at the club since Sterling was signed last summer.
However, Chelsea are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League and will finish the season trophyless.
In January, the Blues signed Mykhaylo Mudryk in a deal worth up to £87 million, while they also completed the signing of PSV forward Noni Madueke alongside bringing Joao Felix in on a loan deal for the remainder of the campaign.
“Sometimes you have lows,” Sterling admitted. “I haven’t been in this situation in my career so far but I am more than up to the challenge. We are disappointed when we come off the pitch and feel angry and disappointed.
Sterling on Chelsea’s situation
“There are times when we finish a game, and you just sit in the changing room looking into space because you can’t understand what has just happened.”
Chelsea have had four different managers in the dugout this campaign, with Thomas Tuchel replaced by Graham Potter in September.
Yet the former Brighton manager’s recent dismissal saw Bruno Saltor oversee first-team affairs for one game before Frank Lampard was appointed as interim boss.
Lampard became the club’s first manager to lose each of his opening four matches in the hotseat before his miserable time in the dugout continued this week as Brentford inflicted a fifth successive defeat for the Blues with a two-goal victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Despite the club’s poor form, Sterling insisted that he has no regrets over leaving all-conquering City for Chelsea, saying: “That’s the beautiful thing. I enjoyed my time at my previous club and won a lot of trophies. But I like a new challenge, and this is the challenge I signed up for.
“It’s a challenge I will overcome. It will taste even sweeter to win silverware coming from a moment like this than if you were winning every single week.”