Southampton want to sign Liverpool outcast Daniel Sturridge on loan, according to reports. Fresh from announcing that they had sold defender Virgil van Dijk to the Reds in a deal worth £75million, the Telegraph states that Mauricio Pellegrino wants to bring the striker to St.Mary’s in January, in a rare move that would see the Saints sign one of the Reds’ stars rather than the vice versa.
Sturridge, 28, has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth in Jurgen Klopp’s two-year spell on Merseyside due to the wealth of attacking talent at the German’s disposal. Given the form of Klopp’s ‘Fab Four’ Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the attacking berths, Sturridge has struggled for minutes this season.
The Telegraph exclusively claims that the England international will have to look elsewhere for first-team football if he wants to be a part of Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Keen to reinvest the huge fee they regained after selling Van Dijk, Pellegrino is working on a list of targets and is desperate to add pace, power and goals, which his side has been sorely lacking since the start of the campaign. And one of the names in the Southampton manager’s wish list is Sturridge, who is keen to resurrect his stuttering career that has been blighted by injuries during his time on the Merseyside.
A prolific striker on his day– he struck 21 Premier League goals for the Reds in 2013/14 season when they came within touching distance of the title, which was eventually won by Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City.
Southampton have not exactly been prolific under Pellegrino’s guidance so far this term, with Charlie Austin being the main source of their goals.
Austin, however, picked up a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield recently and with the likes of Shane Long and Manolo Gabbiadini shot-shy in front of goal, the Southampton manager needs to add more firepower to the squad.
Sturridge has only scored 3 goals in 14 games in 2017/18 and a move away from Anfield seems to be the best possible option for the striker. Southampton, meanwhile, believe that a loan deal may be the most viable option, which could appeal to all parties involved.
Would it be right for Klopp to let Sturridge leave Anfield on a temporary deal?
