Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand have both described Arsenal target Raheem Sterling as "world class".
Although his form for Manchester City dipped in the months prior to Euro 2020, the winger has played a starring role in England’s line-up thus far, finding the net three times so far in the tournament.
Amid all the tournament drama, Sterling has been linked with a move back to London – where he was born – with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta reportedly keen on reuniting with the player whom he man-managed for Pep Guardiola while assistant coach at the Etihad Stadium.
If the move were to happen, it would be a huge coup for Arsenal, especially considering how talented Sterling is – something Lampard and Ferdinand agree on.
"He’s excellent, I love him as a player,” said Lampard, while on media duties for BBC sport before the start of England’s quarter-final clash with Ukraine.
“He’s had a dip in form, and he’ll admit that, but what we’re seeing now is the player we’ve seen for the last three years. If I’m talking to a young, wannabe winger now who wants to play, he’s an example on the pitch and off the pitch.
“He’s had tough times, but now he’s coming through it and he looks like a man. He’s just a world-class player.”
Ferdinand believes that the winger has always responded well to criticism, so much so, that he’s become one of Gareth Southgate’s most important players, and the Three Lions’ best player at the tournament so far.
“He’s undoubtedly been our best player at this tournament, our most effective player,” said Ferdinand. “There’s a steeliness about him, he mentioned in that VT (before the game) there that he’s had criticism during his career, he's always answered the criticism.
“He’s very single-minded, he’s focused, he thinks about, not just the pitch, but there’s other things that come into play - the mentality, the understanding of what he needs to do off the pitch in terms of preparation and recovery, the detail he goes into to make sure he plays and performs at this level continuously.”
It's fair to say that Sterling has silenced his doubters, and has proven that he is up there with the very best players in football, with an early assist for Harry Kane's goal in England's 4-0 win against Ukraine as the Three Lions booked a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.
