Daniel Sturridge enjoyed the perfect return to action on Saturday, as he scored within 12 minutes of entering the field in his first Liverpool appearance for five months.
On Wednesday night, the 25-year-old revisits the ground in which he really kick-started his career after four years of champing at the bit – The Macron Stadium.
Sturridge made his professional debut in 2007 for Manchester City, but only ever made five Premier League starts for the Citizens before moving to Chelsea for £3.5m in 2009.
Just like at City, a place in the starting lineup was a rarity for the Birmingham-born forward at Stamford Bridge.
He scored five in the 2009-10 season, four of which were in the FA Cup. He followed up with another four in cup competition during the first half of 2010-11, but he’d only made two league starts in the 18 months he’d been at the West London club, and Fernando Torres was on his way in from Liverpool – so Sturridge moved to Bolton Wanderers on loan in January 2011.
It was at the Macron (then named Reebok) Stadium that we were finally able to grasp just how capable Sturridge is.
His first outing in a Trotters shirt was off the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers. In stoppage time, he latched onto a Ronald Zubar backpass and coolly slotted it past Wayne Hennessey to hand Bolton a 1-0 win.
Three days later, Owen Coyle handed Sturridge his first start for the Greater Manchester club, away at Tottenham Hotspur. He tormented the Spurs defence throughout and brought the Trotters level in the second half in an eventual losing effort.
The next two league fixtures – against Everton and Newcastle United respectively – yielded another two goals from the in-form attacker, and it was becoming clear that Sturridge was a clinical goalscorer when given the opportunity.
After going three games without finding the net, he soon rediscovered his scoring touch against West Ham United, curling a delicious shot into the top corner, and in the second half he lashed in his second and Bolton’s third in a 3-0 triumph.
His penultimate goal during his loan spell didn’t just benefit the Trotters, but parent club Chelsea too. Arsenal were the visitors, and they were still chasing the Premier League trophy – but Sturridge’s headed opener dealt a massive blow to the Gunners. He then won a penalty, which was missed, but Bolton won the game 2-1 and effectively eliminated Arsenal from the title race.
Sturridge registered his final Trotters goal away at Blackpool, before his successful tenure in the North West came to a rather sour end. He was shown a straight red card on the final day of the season against former club Manchester City for a lunge on Edin Dzeko.
Putting the dismissal against City aside, it was a huge five months for Sturridge. Eight goals in 12 appearances was a more than adequate return, and was enough to convince André Villas-Boas – who took over at Chelsea that summer – to install him into the starting XI once his three-match ban had been served.
Carrying on from where he left off at Bolton, Sturridge flicked in the decisive goal in the Blues’ 2-1 win at Sunderland, and it was evident that he had a spring in his step, having proven that he can do some real damage in the top flight.
In early October 2011, Chelsea went to Bolton in the league, and Sturridge – warmly received by all sections of the crowd – turned in a magnificent display, scoring twice and setting up one as the Blues won 5-1. Bolton were left wishing they could have kept the striker for good.
An England call-up soon beckoned, and Sturridge finished with goal tally of 11 in the Premier League that season – his new career best. Chelsea’s plentiful attacking options meant that he was unable to cement a permanent place in the team, but another big club would soon come calling.
His arrival at Liverpool in January 2013 was undoubtedly the move that transformed his career, but had it not been for his breakthrough period at Bolton, it may have taken a lot longer for us to see the real Daniel Sturridge.
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