Former Liverpool players Dietmar Hamann and Jason mcAteer have urged the Reds to sell the injury-prone Daniel Sturridge. The two legendary players were speaking during the unveiling ceremony of a new pitch at Jumeira Baccalaureate School on Tuesday.
Despite scoring 37 goals for Liverpool in 60 appearances since his famous move from Chelsea in 2013, the England international has been a regular patient in the treatment room.
In almost every season, the lethal but fragile forward has been the subject of ridicule on social media, with some fans joking that he was signed for medical research at Anfield.
WATCH: Jurgen Klopp talks about Liverpool's chances of winning the Capital One Cup:
Speaking about Sturridge, McAteer revealed:
“The Daniel Sturridge saga is really disappointing for me.”
“Because I think he really is one of the best strikers when he is on his game. He can do the lot.’’
“You just can’t get him on the pitch. Maybe he [Klopp] will cut his losses with Daniel Sturridge – there’s a big question mark over him.”
According to former German international, Hamann, Sturridge’s situation needs to be solved. He said:
“It’s hard to put a price on him.”
“If I was in charge of the football club and somebody told me they’d take him for nothing and take over his wages I’d probably let him go. Because the ways it’s been going, are we going to see him this season? I doubt it.’’
“It’s got to be resolved in one way or another, but the club’s hands are tied because I don’t think there would be any takers.”
However, Fowler believes that Klopp will give Sturridge more chance to prove himself, especially given the fact that he is usually lethal when fully fit. He added:
“I’d go the other way to Didi.’’
“Jurgen Klopp has not really seen Sturridge so I think he would want to keep him.’’
“Would I like to see him go? Probably not because I’ve liked what I’ve seen, but it’s important we get him on the pitch. We can’t afford to wait; we need him on the pitch now.”
Meanwhile on social media, the trolling continued:
On an alarming rate, I forget that Daniel Sturridge is actually a Liverpool player.
— Mark Kastner (@mkstnr) January 26, 2016
Hearing Sturridge is out for another 3 months after celebrating Lallana's winner.
— . (@AnfieldRd96) January 23, 2016
Klopp has spent more time on the pitch this calendar year than Sturridge...
— Alexander (@AlexJJones094) January 23, 2016
Daniel Sturridge hasn't trained with the team for 44 days. #lfc
— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) January 19, 2016
Lol. Daniel Sturridge is injured again for another 2 months. I wonder why we bother registering him.
— James Ndubuisi (@JamesNdu) January 16, 2016
In other news, Football Insider reports that The Reds are closing in on Shaktar Donetsk midfielder Alex Teixeira in a record-breaking £38 million move. If the deal goes through, the 26-year-old would become Liverpool’s most expensive signing. The Brazilian midfielder has scored 22 goals in 15 league appearances so far this season for the Ukrainian outfit, and was the top scorer in their botched Champions League campaign after netting three goals in six group games.
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