A striker with scintillating pace and an incredible eye for goal, Daniel Sturridge was a huge part of Liverpool’s rampant title challenge in the 2013-14 season. The talented Englishman has the skill level and ability to be a top player in not only the Premier League, but in Europe too. Tipped from a young age to be the next big star in the Premier League, Sturridge’s ascension to the top of English football has been hindered only by injuries; a lot of them.
Along with Luis Suárez, the 25 year-old forward formed half of one of the most prolific goal-scoring partnerships in Premier League history, with the two combining to score a total of 55 goals. While often working in the shadow of the world class Uruguayan, Sturridge more than pulled his weight, scoring 24 goals in that season and finishing second in the goal-scoring charts, behind only his strike partner. After Suárez’ departure in the summer of 2014, the following season was supposed to be Sturridge’s time to shine, to step into the spotlight and provide the main driving force at the attacking end to fire Liverpool towards another title challenge. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite happen like that.
The season started well for Liverpool’s star striker, scoring in the opening game against Southampton and forming an impressive partnership with Mario Balotelli against Tottenham Hotspur. The excitement over Sturridge’s potential season in the sun didn’t last too long however. While training with the England team in September, Sturridge suffered an injury to his thigh that would put him out of action for a month. This blow played a large part in Liverpool’s miserable form during the pre-Christmas period of the season. Just as he was set to make his return, Sturridge was hit with another injury, this time to his calf and then another to his thigh. These injuries would prove catastrophic for the striker and his team. His return was postponed to late January. The season in which Sturridge was to not only take the torch from Suárez, but grab it and run all the way to the top of the scoring charts, taking his place as one of the world’s best strikers, was in tatters.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Sturridge’s career has been plagued with injuries. There’s no denying it, the man is as injury prone as you can get. Since signing for Liverpool just over two years ago, he has suffered nine different injuries. This prompts the question; can Liverpool rely on Daniel Sturridge?
This past season, Liverpool have been without Suárez, which was to be difficult enough as it is, but have also missed Sturridge for the majority of the season. With both of his star strikers gone, Brendan Rodgers has struggled to find a way to get his side producing the goal-scoring form we saw in the second half of last season. Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Mario Balotelli have all proved to be far below the top class finishing ability and creativity that a top four team needs up front, both of which would have, if not for the unfortunate injury afflicted season, been provided by Sturridge.
A team that aims for success, a regular top four finish and title challenges needs, among other things, a top striker with the ability to turn the game at any time and finish any chance that comes to him. Despite his ability and his seemingly laser-pointed accuracy with his left-foot, can Liverpool rely on an injury-prone player to be the star man? You can’t win a title if your goal-scorer misses 80% of the games. It’s as simple as that. Unless Liverpool’s medical team find a way to reduce his susceptibility to injuries, Sturridge may never reach the heights that Liverpool need him to. His potential is astronomical, but his body keeps him grounded.
It seems that Sturridge may just be an excellent player that has to work in a partnership, not because he’s unable to play alone up front, but because he can’t be relied on to be there throughout the season. He isn’t dependable enough to be the go-to man. If Liverpool can sign a second 20 goal-per-season striker to compliment Sturridge when he’s fit, but still be able to score the goals when he’s not, this would be ideal for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool.
QUALITY. Source: liverpoolfc.com
The options are simple; Option A) Rodgers takes a chance and sticks with Sturridge, and Sturridge alone, running the very high risk of losing him for a large portion of the season and finding himself in a difficult position with no real striking options once again. Option B) Rodgers signs a second 20 goal-per-season striker and provides Sturridge with not only a partner, but a reliable back-up should things go wrong, or option C) Rodgers signs a more reliable top class striker and sells Sturridge. This still doesn’t solve the problem of a lack of a back-up, though the need for a back-up is significantly (but not totally) reduced.
The decision lies with Brendan Rodgers, from here it doesn’t seem like too much of a head scratcher with option B seeming stand out as the perfect move, but this is a simplified version of the problem. There are other things to take into account such as wages, transfer fees and the appeal of Liverpool, much depending on Champions League qualification and partly the outcome of the challenge for the FA Cup among other things. Regardless, we will see in September which direction the manager will take in the Daniel Sturridge complication.
Stuart Walding
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