Should Liverpool Sell Daniel Sturridge?
West Ham’s bid for Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge might have raised a few eyebrows but there are a couple of reoccurring themes here. West Ham seem to have a habit of buying crooked strikers, they had the talented yet injury prone Dean Ashton and then even signed former Liverpool man Andy Carroll, who seems set to spend a few more weeks out of the first team due to injury.
The second theme which has been raised is the injury record of Daniel Sturridge. The former Chelsea and Manchester City striker is talented for sure, he does have the best goals-to-games ratio for any Liverpool striker in the history of the Premier League but he has only played 72 games for Liverpool since signing for them in 2012-13, which is a poor record by every measure.
The bid will test Liverpool’s resolve to keep the striker, £18 million for a striker that has just played six games all season isn’t the worst deal you would get in the market and Liverpool do have a lot of players who can play up top.
Christian Benteke, Divock Origi and Danny Ings are the strikers that are currently in the squad, out of which only Benteke is the fit enough striker. There is also a range of qualities that makes each striker at Liverpool a shade different from each other, giving Jurgen Klopp options to change tactics midway through a game.
The problem with all the strikers is that none of them have a great goal scoring record, something which the always injured Sturridge can lay a claim to. Liverpool also have a striker away on loan, Mario Balotelli, who seems to have a future at Liverpool, when he does return from AC Milan.
There have been widespread reports of Liverpool moving for Shane Lone, even if it is on a loan basis, the deal should provide the Reds with enough cover for the injuries of Ings and Origi. Roberto Firmino has also become a de-facto choice up front and has played in that role against some of the bigger sides this season. His best performances have come in this role and it shows that the Brazilian, when used right, will deliver the goods.
Sturridge might have till the end of the season to save his Liverpool career. When he was signed by Brendan Rodgers the then Liverpool manager did state that this was Sturridge’s last chance of getting it right, more so with his performances as a striker but the prophecy seems to have come true.
Sturridge’s last chance to play as a striker and perform well at a top club could come to an end if West Ham come back with an offer greater than £20 million, the offer might tempt Liverpool to send the striker away.
It would be a sad career progression for Sturridge and being 26-years-old, he would still have at least a couple of years where he would be able to show his ability at the top level but that could well be at another club.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, Sturridge hasn’t been able to cut it at any of these clubs, be it due to his personality, performance or injury record. He probably is the best finisher in the league alongside Sergio Aguero but his time away from the team and on the treatment table certainly is costing him, not only goals but also his career at the top level.
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