Raheem Sterling is a spokesman for the young black generation, a sensational footballer – and, above all else, a natural-born fighter.

That’s the view of ex-England, Aston Villa and Wimbledon striker John Fashanu following the Manchester City ace’s scrap with Liverpool rival Joe Gomez in the canteen at St George’s Park.

Fash, notorious for dressing-room brawls and training-ground fights with the Crazy Gang in the late 80s and early 90s, is full of admiration for Sterling.

After all, squaring up to somebody such as Gomez, who is considerably taller than the Etihad winger, takes some courage.

And, according to Fashanu, it means Sterling would have slotted in with the Wimbledon of yesteryear – no problem.

The ex-Premier League hardman said: “Raheem would have been a great Crazy Gang player – just the sort we looked for.

“You have to give him a lot of credit – to stand up for himself the way he does is what you want from every player. We all know about his amazing talents, his amazing maturity in taking on the racists in the game – and demanding black and white players are portrayed equally by the media.

“But now we see he also possesses this rare inner strength. There’s a street brawler burning away inside him when it comes to football and life. The boy’s
a winner.

“Raheem would have been perfect with Vinnie Jones and me at Wimbledon. We just loved team-mates like that – someone not scared of anything, a warrior.”

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