Daniel Sturridge’s career rests on the next six months at Liverpool

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Not so long ago, it looked as though Daniel Sturridge’s time at Anfield was over and he was facing a fight to recover his career having been frozen out by Jurgen Klopp and constantly struggling with injuries, finding it even harder to find the back of the net on the rare occasions when he was on the pitch.

Now though, after a woeful loan spell at relegated West Brom, The Telegraph say that Klopp will reject any offers for Sturridge this summer, opting to retain the former England international as a back-up option in attack to add depth.

In pre-season, Sturridge has played in a new, deeper role which has given him a new lease of life, having far more of an impact and being one of the strongest positives from the early stages of Liverpool’s pre-season campaign.

“Playing on the shoulder is what I like to do, but it’s also important to come and get involved and get in and around the opposition’s No.6. It’s adding more strings to my bow and giving the manager more options if he needs to play me deeper. I’m probably just doing more. It’s important for me to try to get involved, but wherever I play, it doesn’t matter – it’s just important to get the minutes.”

Sturridge spoke to the Liverpool website about his new role.

With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out for the season and a deal for Nabil Fekir looking unlikely, it could be Sturridge’s best route into the side, rather than competing with sure picks like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino or Sadio Mane or new signings like Xherdan Shaqiri.

Remaining on Merseyside, Sturridge has only one year left on his contract and the club have no plans to kick off contract talks in the immediate future, meaning that the next six months could define the striker’s career.

The Reds are unlikely to allow him to leave for free and so his situation is likely to be re-assessed in January in any case, so Sturridge must make a rapid impression early on in 2018/19 and prove what he has to offer.

As his recent loan spell proved, if he doesn’t produce, he won’t have offers from the high profile kind of clubs that he may be hoping for. Joining relegated West Brom on loan, he failed to make the impression that anyone was hoping for and just where he may end up if his career continues to stutter remains to be seen.

That’s why the months ahead will decide the rest of Daniel Sturridge’s career. Still only 28-years-old, despite having made his Premier League debut in 2007, the forward must improve on his return of three goals last season and show Jurgen Klopp what he can contribute to his Liverpool side early on in the season.