Liverpool‘s pre-season tour of north-west England and now America may not have shown the full extent of their squad’s ability, but it has potentially provided a revival for one man.
With the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all still absent from playing due to their involvements at the World Cup in Russia, Daniel Sturridge has been given an opportunity to fight for his place as a Liverpool player.
The Englishman has not had the best time at the Reds since scoring 24 goals in all competitions during 2013/14, including 21 in the Premier League, as Liverpool went close to winning the title.
He’s continually suffered with multiple injury problems since, and in the second half of last season, Sturridge was sent out on loan to West Bromwich Albion but managed just six appearances once again due to injuries.
But this summer, the 28 year-old has found himself thrust straight back into the mix for a place in Liverpool’s squad next season after good pre-season performances.
His performances have not gone amiss, but some reports believe the Englishman is yet to be offered the chance at playing for a new contract – with just one year remaining on his current deal.
Speaking after Liverpool’s defeat to Borussia Dortmund in pre-season, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spoke highly of Sturridge, via the Liverpool Echo: “Who doubts Daniel Sturridge when he is fit? I don’t.
“He is an outstanding player when he is fit. The future is bright.
“He is still young enough. It is not as if he is 30-something. He is experienced. He has natural arrogance that you need on the pitch, so when something doesn’t work he doesn’t disappear out of the game for 10 minutes.”
Though Klopp may be set on his attacking trio of Firmino, Salah and Mane, Sturridge could provide cover for all three of those positions. But which role is best suited to the Englishman?
No.10: The Booster Rocket
During the 2016/17 season, Mane was Liverpool’s most dynamic player and despite the arrival of Salah last year, the Senegalese forward has unlocked his true role in the Reds’ XI.
Dropping deep to pick the ball up and carrying it forward, Mane’s work may often go unnoticed due to the goalscoring efforts of Salah and Firmino but his importance to the Liverpool side cannot be understated.
Despite being a striker by trade, Sturridge has done a lot of work off the ball in Liverpool’s pre-season matches so far, making intelligent runs to open up space and dropping deeper to be the more creative spark for his fellow attackers.
Even after being hounded by injuries throughout his career, the Englishman still has pace to burn though he is more conservative with his dribbling, picking and choosing when to make the runs for the benefit of himself and Liverpool.
And in Mane’s role he can do this, luring in opposition defenders before showing the burst of pace and getting down the left, as he did once upon a time at Chelsea, providing support to Didier Drogba.
No.11: The Cannon
On the other side of the pitch to Mane last season was Liverpool’s talisman and new darling of Anfield, Salah. The Egyptian’s arrival was met with initial caution due to his ineffective spell in the Premier League with Chelsea but he quickly put the fans at ease by scoring 44 goals in all competitions – just three fewer than Ian Rush’s club-record 47-goal haul from 1983/84.
But while Salah brings goals to the side, that is not his main strength. What he does best, is torments opposition full-backs using his pace and close-quarter control before beating the goalkeeper with an array of finishes on both feet and with his head.
This may be the hardest role for Sturridge to replicate, but the Englshman does have the ability and experience to provide a similar threat.
As previously mentioned, his time at Chelsea often saw Sturridge played out on the wing to accommodate Chelsea’s thunderous attacking players including Drogba, Anelka and even a young Salomon Kalou.
During his time on the wing, he worked on his dribbling, his pace, and his deadly finishing by making crossfield runs ahead of an often backtracking defender. While he may not be as good as Salah was last season, Sturridge is certainly a option for the role, should something happen to the magical Egyptian.
No.9: The Supercomputer
Last summer, Jurgen Klopp made the genius decision of giving up on the likes of Sturridge and Divock Origi, playing Firmino in the central role as a false nine.
A year later, the Brazilian looks back on a season which saw him score 27 goals in all competitions including 10 in the Champions League – only Cristiano Ronaldo (15) scored more.
Firmino’s role in the Liverpool squad sees him as one of the busiest players in the starting XI, dropping deep to create space and push his teammates on or getting into the box to finish off the Reds’ often devastating attacks.
This is what Sturridge has done to an extent so far in pre-season, moving where the game allows him to move as opposed to staying in one rigid position in the way a more traditional striker may do.
Playing alongside Suarez for Liverpool, Sturridge enhanced the parts of his game that are utilised by a second striker, and despite there not being a more forward teammate in Klopp’s current system, the Englishman’s skill are still transferable.
Verdict
Again, it is only pre-season, but Sturridge is beginning to show he can be an even falser nine than Firmino last season, allowing the wingers more freedom to trouble defences.
Dropping deeper, the 28 year-old can link up with new signing and midfield marvel Naby Keita, bringing more creativity from deep and giving space for Mane and Salah to latch onto the through balls Keita will be spraying throughout the season.
His positioning could also see Keita himself get further forward on occasion, with Sturridge providing the assists with his intelligence in reading a game.
The post Which role in Liverpool’s attack is best suited to the shiny new Daniel Sturridge appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2LNYr4Y
No comments:
Post a Comment