Manuel Pellegrini’s time at Manchester City was a bit of a mixed bag.
On one hand, Manchester City won the Premier League title under his guidance in 2014 and for most of the season, the Chilean’s brand of football was a treat to watch.
But not only could Manuel Pellegrini not retain the title in the following campaign but in his final season, City finished fourth and above Manchester United on goal difference — which meant his time at the Etihad Stadium ended in a whimper.
However, Manchester City fans will thank Pellegrini for winning the league more than a decade ago and having been in charge when big-hitters like Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling signed for the club.
De Bruyne’s greatness in a sky blue strip is self-explanatory at this point but as Pep Guardiola said, Sterling was “unbelievable” for Manchester City.
Man City have still not replaced Raheem Sterling
Even Jeremy Doku was a big fan of Sterling as he was one of the cornerstones behind Manchester City’s success under Guardiola after a disappointing debut season under Manuel Pellegrini.
However, it is fair to say that Manchester City are yet to truly replace Sterling, who left the club to join Chelsea in 2023.
Doku reminds Rodri of Sterling and while he is similarly rapid and an incredible dribbler, the four-time Premier League winner was far more productive than him.
The same applies to Jack Grealish, who played alongside the Englishman at City and to this day, he is yet to hit the heights that his countryman did.
The stats don’t lie when comparing Sterling’s output in a Manchester City shirt in comparison to both Doku and Grealish.
| TOTAL STATS AT MAN CITY | RAHEEM STERLING | JACK GREALISH | JEREMY DOKU |
| APPEARANCES | 339 | 156 | 76 |
| GOALS | 131 | 17 | 12 |
| ASSISTS | 81 | 23 | 19 |
In fairness to Doku, he is still only 22 years old and has the potential to become a world-class winger like the former Liverpool sensation.
Manchester City are willing to sell Grealish and at 29, it looks unlikely that he will ever become the match-winner out wide he was seemingly brought in to evolve into.
While Sterling eventually seemed to have lost Pep Guardiola’s trust, he was truly one of the best players in the world in a City shirt and the club have yet to sign a player as a complete as him on the wings.
Three ways Manchester City could replace Sterling this summer
However, there are three avenues the Sky Blues could take to finally find the successor to the 30-year-old.
The first one is that with Real Madrid willing to sell Rodrygo, Manchester City could perhaps sign him this summer as he has the potential to hit Sterling’s heights.
The second method is to keep the faith in Doku, who has impressed this season and if he manages to work on his final ball and off-the-ball movement, he could become one of the deadliest widemen on the planet.
The third and final way could be sticking with Omar Marmoush as an inside forward next season.
The Egyptian international has shown how productive he is already for City in his early days and despite not being a natural winger, he possesses Sterling’s eye for goal and sharp movement to trouble defences.
