Why Leicester City should have signed Daniel Sturridge in summer
Back in June, a report from the Leicester Mercury had claimed that Leicester City were interested in signing Daniel Sturridge on a free transfer after he was released by Liverpool.
Daniel Sturridge, 29, moved to Liverpool in January 2013 and was a key player for the team almost immediately. In the following campaign, he forged a stunning partnership with Luis Suarez that took Liverpool close to the Premier League title. However, from that campaign on, the English striker struggled frequently with injuries.
In 2017-18, the 29-year-old spent the second half of the season on loan at West Brom, although more fitness issues limited him to just six appearances at the Hawthorns.
He returned to Liverpool but with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in attack, Sturridge rarely got first-team opportunities last season and it was no surprise when manager Jurgen Klopp opted against giving him an extension.
Having been released earlier this summer, the England international has signed a three-year contract with Turkish club Trabzonspor. That being said, Leicester City did wrong in not signing Sturridge on a free transfer when he was available.
Leicester want to make inroads into European competitions after finishing eighth last season. Brendan Rodgers has employed a fast, attacking possession-based system at the King Power Stadium, with full freedom given to the full-backs to bomb forward. He has an exciting young squad that has the potential to break into the top six this season.
Jamie Vardy continues to be the Foxes’ main man in attack having been reinvigorated since the arrival of Rodgers at the start of the year. Even though the English striker is doing well, he is 32 and could give two seasons at the highest level at the most.
An injury to Vardy could give Rodgers some problem as Kelechi Iheanacho isn’t a prolific goalscorer and hasn’t done enough to stake his claim in the starting XI.
That’s why the Foxes should have signed Sturridge. He has struggled with injury problems for the last few seasons now but when fit, the 29-year-old is not only a clinical finisher in front of goal but is equally adept at creating opportunities for his teammates. He could have been brilliant from the bench as well, replacing Vardy in games after he has worn down defences.
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Having managed the England international at Liverpool, Rodgers would have been aware of his strengths and weaknesses and could have got the best of his ability.
Verdict
Nobody knows whether Sturridge will take the Turkish league by storm or struggle with injuries, but Leicester could have certainly taken a punt on the former Chelsea man.