Liverpool Fans Divided Over Club's £30m Price Tag for Sturridge After Forward Asks to Leave
With Daniel Sturridge likely to leave Anfield in January after playing a bit-part role this season, fans are split over the club's steep demands for the English striker.
Per the Liverpool Echo, the Reds will only let Sturridge go if their £30m valuation is met, with Jurgen Klopp keen for the injury-prone forward to remain at the club as cover for Roberto Firmino, despite making only five starts this season.
Liverpool fans baulked at the price, with the Anfield faithful not believing he is worth that amount due to his injury history.
The 28-year-old needs regular first-team football in order to keep alive his chances of making it into the World Cup squad in June, and believes he can't get that at Liverpool.
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He remains a capable option, with the Englishman up there with the very best at times. Injuries have hampered him in recent years, with Sturridge struggling to recapture the form that saw him score 24 times in the 2013-14 season, almost leading Liverpool to the title with Luis Suarez.
On quality alone, he is more than worth the £30m asking price, with that a fair assessment of a player of his calibre. However, question marks over his injury record mean no club is likely to spend such a fee on the striker, with his long-term fitness unsustainable.
His £150k-a-week wages may also prove a stumbling block in negotiations, with few Premier League clubs able to justify that kind of outlay.
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Since the arrival of Klopp in late 2015, Sturridge has failed to nail down a starting place and wants to move on in order to play his way into Gareth Southgate's plans for Russia. Southampton and West Ham are interested, along with Inter Milan. The Italians are thought to prefer a loan move rather than a permanent switch.
The Birmingham-born forward was overlooked by the England boss for the recent November friendlies against Germany and Brazil, and will look to make sure he has a good second half of the season to rectify that.
