Raheem Sterling has been spotted training in a mystery pair of blackout boots from New Balance, but with the next generation of Tekela already having been seen recently, is this a next generation Furon or something else entirely?
New Balance have been quick to position Raheem Sterling as one of their key athletes, rewarding him with a couple of pairs of his own signature edition boots in recent months, including a pair to celebrate his 100th Premier League goal, and the commercially released ‘Jamaica’ edition Furon 6+, which celebrated his heritage. But now he’s on testing duties, training in a mystery blackout boot from the brand. So what is this boot?
Jack Wilshere has already given us a pretty good look at the next generation Tekela prototype, and what Sterling’s wearing simply ain’t that. The Man City forward has been wearing the Furon 6+ since he signed with New balance, so it would make sense to assume that this was likely a next gen version of that. But the changes are fairly radical, so much so that we wouldn’t totally discount this being a new silo entirely. Though if we were betting, we’d still lean towards the former option.
The main alteration with the boot is the off-centre lacing system, which leaves a large striking zone in the forefoot. It’s something we haven’t seen executed in such an extreme way for some time, but the logic behind it was always sound enough.
Following on from the lacing, if this is a Furon then the whole upper looks to have been re-engineered, particularly around the collar, which looks to have a new, slightly higher shape, while the upper material looks to wrap around the whole foot in more of a one-piece execution. Whether it’s the Furon or something new, it’s one to watch out for.
Watch this space for more on this mystery New Balance boot...
