No one would have expected that Daniel Sturridge would become a key player for Liverpool when he signed for them in January, 2013. Sturridge joined Liverpool from Chelsea for a fee of 15 million during the winter transfer window of 2013. Since then he has been a key striker for Liverpool. He proved his talent in his first game itself when he scored after just seven minutes in the game against Mansfield Town in the third round fixture of the FA Cup. He also scored on his league debut for Liverpool against Manchester United. It marked a whole new beginning for Sturridge who was under used at Chelsea.

The English International was a constant scorer for Liverpool and he even became the second top scorer in the premier league in his first full season at Liverpool (First top scorer was Luis Suarez who then played for Liverpool). But soon injuries started to affect him one after another. His playing time was limited due to injuries. January 2nd of 2016 will mark his third anniversary at Liverpool, but he has been only able to make 72 appearances for them in all competitions. This stat shows how much he has been affected by injuries.

Frustration about his injury problems increased when Luis Suarez left Liverpool. Sturridge was Liverpool’s main striker and he was supposed to step into Suarez’ boots, but injuries did not let things go as planned. Liverpool have been very patient about him only because the talent he has and the influence he can have on Liverpool’s game. But now it might be time for them to consider selling Sturridge and find a replacement for him. Sturridge is on a £150,000 a week contract with Liverpool at the moment and if he keeps on getting injured, then it will be a waste of wage money for the Reds. All these factors make us think about replacing Sturridge and here are three strikers who could effectively replace the injury prone Sturridge at Liverpol:

1. Javier Hernandez Chicharito:

Like Daniel Sturridge, Chicharito was an underrated player at Manchester United. But things changed when he moved to Bayer Leverkusen and since scored 11 goals out of his 14 appearances in the Bundesliga. The Mexican international is no magician with his feet, but is a clinical striker. He is a player who is there at the right place at the right time. He is a good finisher and can be called as a typical striker. He is no Daniel Sturridge, but definitely a striker who can bring in goals. When players like Coutinho, Firmino, Lallana, Henderson, etc supply passes, Chicharito is the man who can take those passes and find the back of the net.

Chicharito’s story can be compared to that of De Bruyne’s. De Bruyne was underused at Chelsea and he ended up moving to Wolfsburg where he won the Bundesliga Player Of The Year Award. Within one year of his leaving from Chelsea, he returned to the premier league as a Manchester City player. Chicharito left Manchester United for Bayer Leverkusen and there he is shining now. It will be nice to see him return to the premier league as a Liverpool player.