The 27-year-old has already enjoyed plenty of success in his career, during his time with Liverpool and Manchester City as well as representing England, but had no doubts about where the next challenge he was looking for was.

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As soon as Chelsea’s interest in the forward became clear, he felt it was the ideal place for the next step in his career.

‘At first, of the options that I had, it was one that was tailor-made for my personal goals,’ he explained. ‘For my family it makes a lot of sense and then of course the direction the club’s going in.

‘You look at Chelsea in the last couple of years, it’s four or five finals that they’ve been in, it’s a team that shows that they are competing and they’re only going to get better. So with the new ownership and the takeover it made a lot of sense.’

He also sees his new club as the ideal place to show the mature player he has become since bursting onto the scene as a teenager at Anfield, being keen to play his part in the development of his younger team-mates and demonstrate his leadership qualities.

‘It’s just one of my traits where, no matter how old you are, I always think it’s good to try to nurture younger people, whatever profession you’re in. You don’t want a hostile environment for them to come into and you always want it to be one they feel like they can flourish in.

‘When I was young I had someone like Steven Gerrard around me to look up to as an example. He had his arm around me and it makes you a lot more relaxed so you can do your best. That’s all I ever try to do – have jokes and laugh but at the same time make sure people are getting the work done and feeling comfortable.

‘I’m excited by the opportunity to showcase my talents. Now, growing up a bit off the field and inside the changing room, it’s a developing side of me I would like to see a lot more – being more involved in the dressing room, being more vocal and trying to drive the team on.’

Sterling also revealed the fact he knows many of his new team-mates like Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell from their time playing together for England has helped him to settle quickly into life at Cobham.

In addition, the team has made a big first impression on him, leaving him excited by what the future could hold for him and Chelsea.

‘Knowing the boys from England, they’re a really top bunch of lads, so it made the transition coming here a lot smoother than if you were to go somewhere you don’t know anyone. I literally came in and fit right in, so it was a good transition.

‘Pre-season was an up and down one in terms of results and what the manager wanted, but pre-season’s not real. We try to build on that and you can see from the short time we’ve been back at Cobham the energy and the unity of the team.

‘That’s probably something you hear all the time, but you can really feel it going into games and I’m really optimistic being here, being in the building and seeing how the guys here work and seeing how passionate the manager is. So I’m really optimistic.

‘I was optimistic coming here in the first place. I always set myself goals, so I know what I want to achieve personally, but also what I would like to achieve with the football club, which is most important.’