How does Raheem Sterling compare to Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane?

Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling continues to be linked with a move away from the Premier League champions amid his struggle for regular starts.

The England international has admitted that he would be open to taking on a new challenge, and Barcelona are thought to be the frontrunners for his services.

However, Liverpool have also been tipped to bring Sterling back to Anfield, even though the attacker departed acrimoniously for Manchester six years ago.

Here, Sports Mole takes a statistical look at how Sterling compares to Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, using data from the current Premier League season.

ATTACK

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With Sterling struggling to make a name for himself under Pep Guardiola this term, the City man understandably ranks the lowest in terms of goal contributions, managing just one goal in the top flight this term so far.

In contrast, Mane has six strikes to his name from 11 Premier League appearances, while the irrepressible Salah has already registered 10 goals and seven assists in 11 top-flight games.

Salah's average of four shots per game is also the highest among the trio, and the Egyptian also boasts 2.4 key passes and 2.2 dribbles per game, compared to 0.7 and 0.9 for Sterling.

Mane has been fouled the most on average - 1.1 times per game - while Sterling has been dispossessed on far fewer occasions and has registered the lowest amount of bad first touches, but the Liverpool duo's increased game time must be taken into account there.

DEFENCE

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Not one member of the trio will be marked down for their defensive contributions, but statistically speaking, Mane leads the way when it comes to helping out the Reds in their defensive third.

The Senegalese superstar ranks highest with 0.8 tackles per game - with Sterling boasting the fewest with 0.4 - while he also averages 0.6 interceptions and 0.5 clearances per match.

However, Mane's increased defensive contributions sees him rank highest in fouls per game with 1.2 as Salah and Sterling register 0.4, and the City man has been dribbled past the fewest number of times per game - 0.3 per game compared to Salah and Mane's 0.6.

ALL-ROUND PLAY

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While he has played nearly 10 hours less Premier League football than Mane and Salah this term, Sterling's average pass completion of 82.3% is the highest out of the trio, with Salah posting 81.3% and Mane down at 74.2%.

However, the out-of-favour Sterling only makes 14.4 passes on average per game compared to Mane's 27.5 and Salah's 35, so that statistic must be taken with quite the pinch of salt.

The trio can barely be separated discipline wise, with Salah picking up just one booking this season while Mane and Sterling both have no cautions on their Premier League books yet.

With Sterling's deal due to expire in the summer of 2023, some inside Anfield may be tempted by the prospect of a cut-price return for the 26-year-old, but Salah and Mane are showing no signs of slowing down as the Reds face key contract decisions over the duo.