Damon Savenelli addresses Daniel Sturridge’s largely uncertain future at Liverpool.
The first ever article that I ever wrote for Rousing the Kop was titled, “How Daniel Sturridge can become the best striker in England.” In that article, I focused on Sturridge’s goalscoring statistics from the 2013/14 season and I also mentioned how I believed that Sturridge was one of the best strikers in England when fit.
Coming into this season, many fans believed that Sturridge would lead the attack up front, with Mane and Firmino on the wings, along with Coutinho slotted somewhere into the midfield. That article was written in July when I, like many other Liverpool fans, believed that Sturridge would play a key role in Liverpool’s attack throughout the course of the upcoming season.
Fast forward a few months, and Sturridge can’t get anywhere near the starting 11. With the current Liverpool attack in red-hot form, it is easy to see why. The trio of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, and Roberto Firmino has made it virtually impossible for the England star to get a start. Klopp prefers to play Roberto Firmino up top and it has worked magnificently. Supporters saw flashes of this from Klopp last season but many thought it was just Klopp experimenting with his squad.
Daniel Sturridge is usually confined to the bench every weekend and usually comes on as a substitute in the final minutes of the match. The striker has started a few cup games where he has played well and scored a few goals, but it has not been enough. Every time the camera pans to Sturridge during a match, he looks utterly miserable. Sitting on the bench with his hood up, he looks like he would rather be anywhere else other than that bench.
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It is well known that the former Chelsea striker enjoys the spotlight, so sitting on the bench is not what he prefers. Sturridge is 100% fit, and Klopp has stated before how the striker continues to work hard in training. I do not believe he has an attitude problem but as I said above, I think his lack of playing time is simply due to the fact that the current Liverpool attack in unstoppable.
So the question on everyone’s mind is will Daniel Sturridge leave Liverpool? This is a very tough situation and therefore a tough question to answer. With Sturridge still a regular in the England squad, he will most likely not want to play his football outside of England. Liverpool will not want to sell him to a Premier League rival such as Arsenal. The only possibility that I can see is a move to a Premier League club like West Ham. Either way, at 27 years of age, he will not be content with sitting on the Liverpool bench for much longer and will look to seek first team football.
When Sturridge came on as a sub this weekend I was rooting for him to score. He hit the post several times and came so close to scoring. It was apparent that his teammates were trying their best to get him on the score sheet. I think I am not alone in saying this, most Liverpool fans do not want to see Sturridge leave Liverpool. I believe he still has a role to play at Anfield, but nobody really seems to know what will happen to Daniel Sturridge, it seems as if only time will tell.