"Always a threat" - John Terry lauds 'unbelievable' Chelsea star for early season form

Chelsea legend John Terry has lavished praise on Raheem Sterling for his performances so far this season.

The former Blues defender believes Sterling poses great attacking threat to defenders and will be a useful asset to Mauricio Pochettino's side.

Speaking on the winger's performance in Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to West Ham United on 20 August, Terry told talkSPORT:

“I watched him specifically, the West Ham game, he was unbelievable, just from my past of playing against him, he always wanted to go by me and go down the side of me or make those runs in between me. He’s always a threat as well, and I think the modern day player can come to feet now a little bit and want the ball to feet, which is very easy for defenders."

He added on the former Manchester City winger:

“People like Gabs [Gabby Agbonlahor] and Sterling, when they run in behind it’s difficult, I think if he continues to do that, he’ll be great for us this year."

Touching upon Sterling being left out of the England squad as manager Gareth Southgate was concerned over the forward's fitness, Terry concluded:

“It’s a shame he didn’t get called up for England, but a good thing for Chelsea I think.”

Sterling is off to a great start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign with the Blues. The England international has scored two goals for Chelsea in their first four league encounters of the season.

"He's definitely the right man for the job" - John Terry backs Mauricio Pochettino to turn things around at Chelsea

Terry also hailed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, insisting that he loves the Argentine boss. The Englishman has backed the former Tottenham Hotspur manager to turn things around at Stamford Bridge after the Blues' dismal 2022/23 campaign.

Terry said in the aforementioned interview with talkSPORT:

"I love Poch, I've met him a couple of times and had the privilege to be around him at the training ground. He works the players very hard, tactically amazing and I think given time, he's definitely the right man for the job."

He added:

“We’ve seen over the years with his experience with him and what he’s done previously, we are a young squad, they’ve literally just been thrown together, haven’t they? There’s a lot of talent there, we’ve had a few injuries as well not go our way, so listen there is loads of football to be played this season, but hopefully exciting stuff."

The Blues had a disappointing campaign last term. The West London outfit finished in 12th place in the league table after securing just 11 wins the entire season.

Chelsea failed to find any semblance of stability as they went through three different managers in the 2022-23 campaign. They also witnessed massive changes in their squad after spending £600 million over the course of two transfer windows in 2023 itself.