It’s time for Sturridge and Liverpool to go their separate ways

Reports have emerged this week that Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has decided to leave the club in January. It was The Mirror’s Darren Lewis who reported this.

The 29 year old striker wishes to be a part of England’s squad for the World Cup next year. However, Sturridge was not called up by England manager Gareth Southgate for national duty last month. The Three Lions played friendlies against world giants Germany and Brazil.

These two games were big for a player like Sturridge to miss. When questioned about not picking some big names in the squad, Southgate replied that they did not get much playing time at their respective clubs and that was Sturridge’s case.

It is after this incident that the reports of Sturridge wanting to leave the Reds this January has appeared. The prolific striker has been linked with few clubs recently, but a report that says the player has decided to leave the club is emerging for the first time.

Whether the reports be true or not, let us look if Sturridge should leave Liverpool.

We can look at this situation from two perspectives. One is from Liverpool’s perspective and the second is from the player’s perspective.

If we look from Liverpool’s perspective, it won’t be wrong to come to the conclusion that the club manager Jurgen Klopp will not want a player like Sturridge to leave.

Even though the former Chelsea man is getting only limited time on the pitch and even though he might not be as sharp as he used to be in the 2013/14 season (thanks to a number of injuries that mainly included leg and hip), there is no denying that he is still one of the most clinical strikers in England. And to have a hitman like Sturridge in your Arsenal is always a good thing for a club like Liverpool who is taking part in the Champions League.

The Englishman has also got good amount of experience which will help the club in big games. One of Liverpool’s latest additions Dominic Solanke can also learn a lot from the prolific striker.

Liverpool’s current number 9 is Roberto Firmino.

The Brazilian is being used as a false nine and Firmino is a doing a great job. However, for a team like Liverpool who are playing big games on big stages there will be instances where they need a proper number 9 who can take advantage of the small chances the team gets. And Daniel Sturridge is that type of player who has knack to find the back of the net.

With that being said, let us look at Sturridge’s side of the story.

It was mentioned earlier that Sturridge is a top player to have in your team and a manager like Klopp wouldn’t want to let him go. However, the striker is getting only very limited time on the field. This leads to the question that is Daniel Sturridge too good to be left on the bench?

The player might not be as clinical and sharp as used to be, but the answer to the question is yes.

The Liverpool number 15 is someone who can score some goals and win points for his team. And such players cannot be left on the bench.

After his series of long injury set backs, Sturridge has never been able to get back his momentum. We have seen glimpses of his capabilities, but we have not seen the striker who ripped apart defences along with Luis Suarez since 2014.

Whenever given the opportunity Sturridge has looked rusty and off. However, the best way to overcome this and get back his momentum is getting some playing time, scoring goals and building confidence. That is not so likely considering the importance Firmino has in the team and he cannot be sacrificed for Sturridge.

The 29 year old is getting past his prime ages and the 2018 World Cup will be the last world cup he can play in his prime. The striker will want to represent his country at the big stage before he is past his best. For that he has to make sure that he is getting constant playing time and good confidence.

There is no much time for the World Cup and getting the attention of the England manager while at Liverpool sounds to be a bad idea for Sturridge.

As mentioned earlier, the topic can be looked from two perspectives. However considering the fact that Sturridge is a great striker whose injuries have made things difficult for him and he deserves to be in a much better position now, the striker’s part of the story sounds stronger.

Liverpool can manage without Sturridge and he needs time on the pitch to get back his lost momentum. Considering all this, it will be better for the former Chelsea player to move away from Liverpool and find a new home.

 

Written by Dakir Thanveer

Follow Dakir on Twitter @ZakWriter

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