Both in winning the ball and in attacking situations, he has improved how he uses his body. He is pushed off the ball less often and is able to hold off defenders while penetrating into the final third; defensively, those improvements have helped his team to more consistently recover the ball high up the pitch.

Sterling’s greatest strength, regardless, is the threat he provides on goal. He might not have quite the finishing ability of Jamie Vardy or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who with Danny Ings were the only players to outscore Sterling in the Premier League in 2019/20 – but his movement is up there with the very best. The frequency with which Sterling reaches low balls across the face of goal is no coincidence – he waits as his teammates build play into the final third before timing his run to perfection to get into position.

His expected goals total for 2019/20 was 19.80 – almost exactly the same number as the 20 goals he recorded, and significantly higher than Vardy, Aubameyang and Ings. Sterling does not rely as much on exceptional finishing as his rivals who outscored their xG total by far more than him; he instead gets himself into positions where he is likely to score, and successfully converts most of the chances he receives.