Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is reportedly linked with a move away from Anfield in the January transfer window. It is said that the England striker has accepted that he is no longer the first choice under Jürgen Klopp with Roberto Firmino and even Divock Origi ahead of him, which is the reason why he is ready to move to a different club.
The lack of opportunities has made the player frustrated and there are a number of clubs who are ready to take a gamble on the player. The biggest problem which he has faced over the years is maintaining his fitness. Sturridge’s inability of being fit for a whole season has seriously hampered his place in the team.
In fact, since 2010/11, the forward has only been able to remain injury free to play 30 games in a Premier League season only twice (2011/12 and 2013/14). Along with his injury problems there were also criticisms over his work ethic.
Liverpool great Graeme Souness has stated, “Sturridge has that quality, but what he does not have, and which all successful teams want, is a work ethic. That explains why two big clubs, Manchester City and Chelsea, have let him go and why he is now not in the starting team at a third big club, Liverpool. There have been some good judges who have doubts about him. Sturridge is 27 now and I would suggest he’s not going to fulfill his potential. He either cannot maintain physically, because of his well-documented injuries, or does not want to mentally put in the shift as a team player that Jürgen Klopp demands.”
The above comments seem to be very justified which suggests that a move away from Anfield can be good for the player but the thing which the 27-year-old brings to the table is the goals. Since his move to Liverpool Sturridge has scored 57 goals in 102 games for the Reds in all competitions, which shows how deadly he is in front of the goal.
Whenever he plays he pretty much gets on to the scoresheet and that makes a huge difference. It is true that Liverpool are doing great at the moment especially in their scoring department with their front three banging in the goals on a regular basis but with the high pressing style imposed it would be interesting to see how the players keep up in the second half of the season.
With them being tired a drop in their level of performance can affect their efficiency upfront which has been observed as a problem of teams managed by Klopp over the years. It is in those situations that a player like Sturridge becomes such an asset if he manages to keep fit that is.
The striker excelled under Brendan Rodgers scoring aplenty and under Klopp even though he hasn’t scored the similar number of goals, the goals per game ratio of the striker under his new manager has remained pretty much the same, thereby reflecting his impact.
There are thus many clubs who are ready to take the gamble on the striker whose pay package is set at £120,000 per week. If Liverpool manage to keep Sturridge despite all the interests, then they would definitely have the upper hand over their title rivals for the 27-year old can make that difference upfront on the pitch playing from the start or off the bench on a regular basis.
