Daniel Sturridge had provided a pragmatic assessment of his long-term future, saying that “I would never say I am Liverpool until I die.”
Sturridge’s absence in Thursday night’s Europa League defeat away to Villarreal prompted ripples of concern throughout the Liverpool support, but Jurgen Klopp has since explained he is managing the striker’s fitness.
“It does not work. The Premier League, Europa League, everything is too intense,” he told reporters, abating fears of a rift between the manager and his star player.
But speaking at an event before the trip to Villarreal, Sturridge gave no assurances over his future on Merseyside, insisting that he wanted to play every game.
“Maybe people don’t see this, but I am someone who wants to play every minute of every match, so maybe when I’m not starting or when I’m taken off, it’s hard to take,” he said.
“You want to be on the pitch every single match, every single minute.
“It’s exciting, of course, what the manager is bringing and where we are heading.
“I am doing everything in my power to be out there on the pitch, and I am feeling good as well.
“There are things I want to achieve with Liverpool. [But] I would never say I am Liverpool until I die, because I would be lying.
“I think any player who says, ‘Oh yeah, this is the only team I will play for, for the rest of my life’, they are deluded.
“In football, every team looks for replacements every single year.”
This could serve as a call to arms from Sturridge, providing Klopp with an ultimatum of ‘play me or lose me’, but as he went on to explain, this is merely the standpoint of an “ambitious” striker.
“All I can do every weekend is go out there, perform as well as I can, perform to the best of my abilities,” he continued.
“Then come the end of the season hopefully have the European Championship to look forward to…and to next year.
“I’m feeling so good right now, feeling great, and my body is at a level where I’m able to play however many games a week repeatedly and not break down.
“I am so ambitious, so hungry, right now for success that it is hard to put it into words.
“Now I’m in a place where I feel amazing, and I feel ready.
“My body feels great, I’m ready to play every game for the team.”
Sturridge is likely to start in Liverpool’s Premier League clash away to Swansea City on Sunday afternoon, and with Klopp promising to “try everything” at Villarreal in their second-leg clash at Anfield next week, can expect to feature in the Reds’ crucial Europa League decider.
After sitting out of the loss in Villarreal, Sturridge should be refreshed—and ready to fire Liverpool to success.
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