Sturridge: No bigger club than Liverpool

08 January 2013 18:47

New signing Daniel Sturridge has raised the stakes ahead of the trip to Old Trafford at the weekend by claiming "there is no bigger club than Liverpool".

The 23-year-old is likely to be in the squad to take on arch-rivals Manchester United, where the Reds are certain to face a hostile welcome. Sir Alex Ferguson's side overtook their north-west rivals' tally of 18 league titles with their Barclays Premier League championship in 2010/11, but Sturridge believes his new team are not inferior to anyone in England.

"It is the biggest club I have ever played for," said the former Chelsea forward, who described the Reds as one of the biggest in the world when he signed last week.

"In the Premier League, there is no bigger club than Liverpool."

Sturridge, who almost moved to Anfield in the summer although manager Brendan Rodgers wanted more time to evaluate the player before committing to a permanent deal, scored just seven minutes into his debut in the FA Cup at Mansfield.

That has eased the pressure somewhat on the January signing and he hopes to continue paying back Rodgers for bringing him to Anfield, having failed to establish himself at Chelsea and Manchester City before that.

"I thank the boss for giving me an opportunity to play for a club like this and I thank God for making it possible," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"As a young player, when you play for big clubs you can sometimes get caught up in it and you never get another opportunity to play for another big club.

"It's amazing for the manager to put such faith in me. The only way I can repay him is by doing a job on the football field.

"For him to pay money for me and to have faith in me and show everybody around the world that he is prepared to take a chance on me, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him for that. So I'm grateful the manager has given me this chance and that he believes in me. I'm just glad to be here."

Source: PA