After a hat-trick for Liverpool on Sunday against Fulham, Daniel Sturridge looks like he is finally living up to his potential.
He is successfully filling the void left by banned Luis Suarez and is justifying a transfer fee of around £12million.
He has shown good link-up play with fellow January signing Philippe Coutinho, particularly evident in the final goal at Craven Cottage. Coutinho played a sublime ball over the defence to Sturridge, whose finish was just as good. He, with his weaker-right foot, lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to complete his hat-trick.
Since his break through at Man City, Sturridge has come under scrutiny for not living up to his potential. At Chelsea, he was played out of position and restricted to appearances from the bench, which is a hard way to make an impression.
His only major downfall is his greed. Sometimes he opts to shoot when he could have chosen the easier option of passing to a teammate to create a goal.
He has speed, a good range of skill and a decent first touch and Brendan Rodgers thinks he could be one of the country’s elite in years to come.
"I've been mightily impressed by Daniel Sturridge." He told reporters after the Fulham match. "He is a young player who has got all the attributes to be a top European forward.”
Not only is this good for Liverpool, it’s good for the nation as he could play an instrumental part for England, too.
He believes his position is upfront in a striker’s role and a fast, goal scoring striker is something England could do with.
Sturridge is the kind of player who needs a regular run of games to get his match sharpness and Rodgers has proved that.
Were Chelsea wrong to let him go? Maybe so, only time will tell.
What happened with Suarez was a disgrace and the ban was deserved and there has been at least one beneficiary from the saga- Sturridge. And maybe even England.
Source: DSG
