Six months on from his much talked about big money move from Liverpool, Raheem Sterling has settled into life at Manchester City, and we take a look at his season to date and whether it has been a success or failure.
Many had doubts over Sterling's move, including me as a Liverpool supporter, suggesting he won't get game time, he'll take years and years to eventually fulfill his potential, and he's missed the chance to become the vocal point of a team.
However, those doubters now, will have eat their own words, including me, as Sterling has lived up to the billing so far.
So far this season, Sterling has amassed 28 appearances for the club, 19 of those coming in the Premier League of which he has missed one. So tick ‘game time' off the list, because he's definitely getting it at City if not more than he was at Liverpool last season. Remember he hasn't taken a mid-season holiday to Jamaica, as he did last season.
Raheem has put the ball in the back of the net nine times for the club up until this point, with three of those coming in the Champions League. Wasn't it former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher who claimed Sterling went missing in Liverpool's disastrous Champions League campaign last season?
Well he definitely was at the forefront of the Citizen's group campaign this season, effectively ensuring they clinched top spot in their group with an equalizer and the winner against Borussia Monchengladbach in their final match.
City can thank the 21-year old for ensuring they get to face Dynamo Kyiv in the round of 16 instead of Bayern Munich. So you can also tick ‘being overwhelmed on the European stage' off the list.
However, on the other side of things, the England International has only registered two assists in the Premier League and created 27 chances suggesting he's moulding into more of a striker than a winger.
He probably needs to be on the ball more of the time, which has changed since he left Liverpool where he often played in a number 10 role. Being the ‘star player' of a team will obviously bring about more impressive stats in terms of creativity, however, Sterling has Aguero, Toure, Silva and De Bruyne to feed off, which essentially means his influence on the game is less than it was at Liverpool, particularly last season.
For all of that though, Sterling has scored more league goals then City's second recognised striker, Wilfried Bony, and with Aguero missing a fair few games this season, you'd think the Ivorian would have more to show for his efforts.
So for a player who plays as a winger in the City team, being the club's third ranked goal-scorer is a fair effort and it seems with every year, Sterling improves.
2013-14 yielded 11 goals, as did 2014-15, however he had more assists last season then he did the year before. With four months still left in the current season, Sterling will be looking to hit the 15 goal mark.
For a 21-year old, he's pretty dam good, and you can only imagine how much better he's going to get once he hits 24-25.
Yes it's a big price tag for such a young player – in fact it was the highest transfer fee ever paid for an English player – but if he continues his good form, he'll easily justify the amount Manchester City paid for him in a few years' time.
For such a small player, he shows incredible strength on the ball, he's highly flexible with an ability to play anywhere in the attacking third and yes, he has the potential to become one of England's best players.
Some may say he hasn't had the greatest season so far, but I think he's met his first season's expectations and I'm happy to give him a B+.
As a Liverpool supporter, I admit, we probably do miss him, but I'm happy to sit here and see how far this kid can go and be proud to say that Liverpool played a part in helping him get there.
It'd be great to see Sterling have an important impact on City's Champions League run as it enters the knockout stages to really cap off his first year in Manchester.
Both England and Manchester City are incredibly lucky to have a player that is as promising as Sterling.
