It appears that manager Jurgen Klopp isn’t willing to let go of his star striker Daniel Sturridge any time soon, amidst interest West Ham, Southampton and even Tottenham Hotspur of late,.
Daniel Sturridge has seen very limited first-team action in the 2016-17 campaign. The striker has fallen down the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp, who has instead favoured the trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho.
The lack of playing time has led to many reports citing the striker’s dismay, even linking him with interest from clubs like Arsenal, West Ham United, Southampton, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Part of the reason for Sturridge’s ouster from the starting XI off-late is Firmino’s versatility and superior work-rate that has contributed to the Reds’ relentlessness in-front of goal this campaign. However, with Coutinho’s ankle injury ruling him out almost for the entirety of December and Sadio Mane set to be out of action in January, Klopp is looking to hold on to the Englishman.
The forward is yet to score in the Premier League after making just four starts so far. He has instead been restricted to first-team appearances in the EFL Cup, where he has 4 strikes to his name already.
That said, there is absolutely no dearth of world-class quality in the 25-year-old, who continues to provide the edge in attack whenever called upon by Klopp. The German boss will feel satisfied and comfortable knowing he has such quality on the bench to fall-back on.
But Klopp will be aware that this cannot carry on for long. A player of Sturridge’s pedigree craves for match-time to keep his sharpness in front of goal and increasing spells on the sidelines could motivate the player to consider his future at the club.
Timing of the essence for Sturridge
Any world-class player of the game can testify to the importance of timing in the course of a match and career. The next couple of months are crucial for Sturridge to establish a strong foothold within Klopp’s system in the absence of Coutinho and Mane. The stage would have been perfect for the England international to reiterate his quality and stake his claim for first-team football in the former’s absence.
However a calf-strain for the 25-year-old meant Divock Origi earned the chance to pounce on to the window of opportunity. And pounced, he has. In the two games he has featured in, the Belgian has scored two crucial, match-winning goals and is now in the reckoning to start at Bournemouth this weekend.
It remains to be seen if he will get the nod ahead of a fit-again Sturridge. Regardless of whether that happens, Sturridge must understand that with chances hard to come by, he will have to work towards creating as significant an impact as possible when on the pitch.
Klopp is not a firm advocate of business in January. However with Liverpool mounting a strong title challenge, the German has indicated that the Reds will dig into the market during the winter transfer window, and a lack of impact from Sturridge will only strengthen his resolve to spend.
