Fascinating comments from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard to the club’s new £12m signing Daniel Sturridge.
The Strurridge transfer from Chelsa had a few bumps in the road, with Sturridge reportedly wanting a clause in his contract saying that he can only play center forward.
Gerrard, who knows Sturridge from his time with England, wasted no time in publicly setting expectations for the 23-year-old striker.
‘Daniel has the quality. I know he’s got it – I’ve seen it,’ said the Liverpool captain.
‘He’s suffered a bit at Manchester City and moved on to Chelsea where he hasn’t played as much as he wanted but has shown flashes of brilliance.
‘I think he’s at the age now when he needs to settle down, get a settled club and show consistently what qualities he’s got.
‘If he can start producing that for us on a weekly basis he can help this club move forward to where we want to be.
‘He has said he wants to play football for a big club, the stage is set for him.
‘There will be no excuses for him. He will be playing with good players at a great club.
‘It’s all there for him. He just has to go and grasp it with both hands. He’s at an age now where he should be performing week in week out.’
I can’t ever remember a captain ever basically calling out a new signing, before he has even practised with the team.
Sturridge is likely to be Rodgers’ main signing of the January window and has been brought in to offer support to leading scorer Luis Suarez, who has 15 goals in the Premier League this season.
With fellow striker Fabio Borini edging closer to a first-team return, after a long time out due to injury, Gerrard believes the addition of Sturridge also will improve their hopes of a top-four challenge.
‘Daniel’s arrival will help the club. He’s got power, pace, strength – he has got huge potential,’ added the midfielder.
‘He’s another attacking option and if you look at the bigger picture from the beginning of the season up until now, we have been a little bit short in the final third.
‘He will add more strength in depth for us and let’s hope he’s not the last face in January because we certainly need a couple more in.’
