At his best
Back in the 2013/14 season, Daniel Sturridge bagged 25 goals in 33 games and looked like a superstar. He had the season of his career alongside strike partner Luis Suarez. Sturridge and Suarez had a bond on the pitch that was magical, the passing and movement between the two was second to none. This is even more impressive when you add the fact that neither of the two players really spoke off the pitch, they had different cliques in training and didn’t really see eye-to-eye a lot of the time, their professionalism was immense though and they gave fans a season to remember as SAS destroyed defenses all year long.
What happened?
Injuries… so many injuries. Daniel Sturridge managed to pick up three seemingly major injuries in the following season. He managed to bag a goal in the first game of the campaign against Southampton, playing 90 minutes. He then went on to play a full game twice more against Man City and Spurs.
Sturridge then picked up a thigh Muscle strain that kept him out for 11 games in all competitions. He then looked poised to return but just before he could, he picked up a serious hamstring injury keeping him out for a further 18 games, putting him out until the end of January.
The striker was then able to return for the next 15 games but the recent injuries had seriously knocked his confidence and he only managed to score 3 goals in his returning matches. In the latter stages of the season, he picked up yet another knock, this one on his hip – missing the rest of the season and the first 6 games of the following season.
After Suarez’s departure, Daniel became the main striker at Liverpool, with players such as Mario Balotelli and Ricky Lambert failing to impress at the club. In those two seasons, Sturridge managed to score 20 goals in all competitions with 13 in the first and seven in the latter.
It was clear to fans that he would never return to his former glory and, after the signing of Roberto Firmino, he became a squad rotational player at best.
Time up?
On the 30th May 2017, out of favour Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke agreed to join Liverpool, with the deal being finalised on the 1st July.
Klopp seemed to enjoy using Dominic in pre-season and he managed to bag a few goals as well. Fans started to really take to the young Englishman and even gave him his own chant after just a few games.
He then went on to take home the Golden Boot in the under-20s World Cup, with a fantastic showing. With the season now reaching the packed Christmas schedule, Klopp has been forced to rotate the squad in recent weeks. A 1-1 draw at Anfield with Chelsea featured a lackluster Daniel Sturridge upfront, failing to impress and looking out of touch throughout the game. Four days later, Liverpool had a tricky fixture once more, a cold Wednesday night in Stoke.
The team changed shape and the squad differed too, Dom Solanke had been given his start. An assist on the night and a fantastic showing has put his name on the lips of fans, leaving them dying to see more. Brilliant footwork and a relentless work ethic have really impressed me and I bet it did Klopp too.
The hunger in this youngster is something we’ve merely seen glimpses of from Sturridge in recent years and he looks like the perfect replacement should the Striker leave.
