'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
When there is a discussion on Liverpool's unlikely title challenge in 2013/14, the focus is often on their mercurial striker Luis Suarez.
Yes, Suarez’s performance was just unbelievable but because of that, the performance of his strike partner, Daniel Sturridge is often overlooked. The Englishman scored 21 goals that season in 29 Premier League games and his goals actually won Liverpool more points than goals from Suarez!
When fit, Sturridge is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the league. He has pace, he has excellent technical ability and he will find the back of the net regularly.
Despite his injury problems at Liverpool and being demoted to a squad player role under Jurgen Klopp, the former Chelsea man has scored 62 goals for Liverpool in 130 games.
Sturridge is a player who thrives when he’s high on confidence and for the same, he needs a run of games which he is not given under Klopp at Liverpool because the German prefers Roberto Firmino up front.
Now 28, it is time for Sturridge to think about his next move with the competition for places rising in the England squad. There are several clubs that could use his services around Europe and here are the top 5 clubs in that list.
#5. West Ham United
West Ham have a lot of experienced players in their side and yet they seem to be underperforming since the start of last season. The Hammers have a lot of creative players like Manuel Lanzini, Andre Ayew and Marko Arnautovic but goalscoring hasn’t been easy for them.
The club signed former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez in the summer but he hasn’t made the impact Slaven Bilic and co would have wanted with just four goals in 12 outings so far.
Apart from Hernandez, the other striking options at Bilic’s disposal include Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho which isn’t enough for a club aiming to grow in stature.
A striker of Sturridge’s quality would walk into the West Ham team and thrive with the service players like Lanzini, Antonio or Ayew can provide.
West Ham have signed former Liverpool players like Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Joe Cole in recent years but Sturridge will easily be a better investment than any of the abovementioned players.
#4. Newcastle United
Daniel Sturridge was linked with a move to Newcastle in the summer but Jurgen Klopp opted to keep the England international at the club.
Funnily enough, it was current Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez who sold Sturridge to Liverpool in 2013 when he was in charge of Chelsea but that was a long time ago. Sturridge is now a much better player than he was back then and Benitez will gladly take a player of his calibre at Newcastle.
Newcastle’s current options up front feature Joselu, Aleksandar Mitrovi? and Dwight Gayle. This is shocking for a team that once had Alan Shearer banging in goals for fun.
Sturridge is clearly a superior upgrade on any of the strikers Benitez has at his disposal and has scored just one goal fewer than all three Newcastle strikers combined in the Premier League this season.
However, it remains to be seen if the Toons can cough up the money to buy Sturridge as Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has put the club on sale.
#3. Southampton
The route from Southampton to Liverpool is a well-trodden one but the opposite road hasn’t been used since the Saints returned to the Premier League in 2012.
With Liverpool keen on signing Southampton’s defensive stalwart Virgil van Dijk, the Reds can try and sweeten the deal by throwing in Daniel Sturridge in the mix.
Southampton currently have Charlie Austin, Shane Long and Manolo Gabbiadini to play up front.
Austin has 7 league goals in 19 games since joining the club last season which isn’t terrible but he hasn’t played enough games and Long, on the other hand, has scored just 25 goals in 121 games since joining the Saints.
The best of the lot is Gabbiadini who has so far scored 9 times in 22 games since joining the club in January 2017 but even his numbers are not that great.
Southampton fans were crying out for a striker in the summer and many of them would be pleased if Sturridge joins them even at the cost of losing Van Dijk.
Sturridge will surely enjoy the service players like Dusan Tadic, James Ward-Prowse, Sofiane Boufal and Nathan Redmond can provide him.
#2. Stoke City
Now aged 36, Peter Crouch was Stoke City’s top scorer last season with 10 goals in all competitions and he might still be their best bet to score a goal. This sums up how badly they need a striker.
Stoke signed Saido Berahino from West Brom last January but after playing 20 games for the Potters so far, he is yet to get off the mark.
There are others like Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Jese or Mame Biram Diouf who can play up front but Stoke desperately need a striker who can bang in goal regularly.
Gone are the days when Stoke used to play route one football, now they have players like Xherdan Shaqiri and Jese in the squad who can create a chance out of nothing. What they need is a striker who can bang in 20 goals a season and Sturridge can definitely do that.
If Sturridge signs for Stoke, then that could also be the beginning of the end for Berahino.
#1. Everton
This is easily the most unlikely move on the planet after maybe Daniel Sturridge to Manchester United, but boy o boy, do Everton need a striker or what?
Ronald Koeman’s downfall at Everton can be attributed to his failure to replace Romelu Lukaku. The former Southampton manager made several signings in the summer but the two strikers he signed, Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez, were clearly not the right men to replace a prolific scorer like Lukaku.
Rooney is clearly not the player he used to be and Ramirez looks lost in England. The other option he has is Dominic Calvert-Lewin but a 20-year-old with one Premier League goal to his name is definitely not the solution to Everton's problems.
It wouldn’t be difficult for most clubs to convince Liverpool to sell Sturridge but for Everton, it will be a herculean task.
Liverpool will not be eager to strengthen their arch-rivals by selling a player of Sturridge’s quality and on top of that, no player has moved directly from Liverpool to Everton since Gary Ablett in 1992!
