Accused of overspending, Man City’s signing of Raheem Sterling proving smart business

Statistics alone cannot illustrate the value the winger has brought to the Premier League title hopefuls, writes Greg Lea

Raheem Sterling of Manchester City during the Premier League match against Everton on August 23, 2015 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

On paper, paying £49 million (Dh276.4m) for a 20-year-old winger with just three seasons of professional football on his CV and only 16 international starts to his name would be considered a risk to most fair-minded people.

But Manchester City took the risk in signing Raheem Sterling from Liverpool, and the early returns have been extremely positive.

It remains too early to call the Englishman an unqualified success for City, but his first three games in a sky-blue shirt suggest that he could make a significant contribution to the club's fortunes this season and beyond.

At first glance, his contributions have been easy to miss. Sterling has yet to score with his new team, with a poor one-on-one miss in the 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion evidence that his finishing is still in need of improvement.

Look a bit closer, however, and it is clear Sterling already has improved this City side.

First, his mere presence has allowed David Silva to be deployed centrally, the position from which the Spaniard can do most damage.

With Sterling fielded on the left and Jesus Navas on the right, the pair are able to stretch the play laterally, in turn creating extra space in the middle for Silva and for Yaya Toure to power through from deep.

Silva’s ability to roam across the pitch has allowed him to find pockets of space more easily than last term, when he would have to drift infield from the left-hand side.

It is down that flank that much of City’s good work has come this season, success that has been brought about not only by Sterling’s speed and direct dribbling but also the intelligence of his play.

This was in evidence during his time at Liverpool, when he showed he could play on the left, on the right, as a central attacking playmaker, up front on his own and as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 formation. The ability to adapt to so many different positions requires a deep understanding of the game that is not always present in players so young.

At City, Sterling's linking with full-back Aleksandar Kolarov down the left has been terrific. The duo combined well during the defeat of West Brom but then improved further against Chelsea before Sterling assisted Kolarov's goal in the 2-0 win at Everton last weekend.

Sterling has already demonstrated that he has the positional awareness to make such a partnership work, opting at times to hug the touchline to give Silva space inside and on other occasions move infield to facilitate Kolarov’s overlapping runs.

While Sterling has shown flashes of his wonderful touch and technique in possession, it is his selfless off-the-ball work that has been most impressive in his first three showings for City.

With Kevin de Bruyne expected to join the club before Tuesday's transfer deadline from Wolfsburg, it will be interesting to see how Manuel Pellegrini reformulates the top end of his team.

City’s lengthy pursuit of the Belgian midfielder suggests he will not be left on the bench, but the side is functioning so well in its current configuration that it would be a risk to disrupt it.

Given his excellent start, Sterling’s place in the side is unlikely to be under threat.

The goals will soon come for the former Liverpool man, but it is pleasing that he is still contributing to the side’s success without them.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE