Daniel Sturridge leaves Liverpool with an understated legacy

A former PFA Player of the Year candidate, Daniel Sturridge has been a constant in Liverpool since 2012. But with a new era in full swing, Sturridge must say goodbye in bittersweet fashion, leaving behind a legacy with the club that should not go overlooked.

When Daniel Sturridge first arrived in Liverpool as an affordable transfer with upside, there were tempered expectations for the English wunderkind. Injuries prevented Sturridge from becoming a high-impact striker at Chelsea, so while fans praised his technical skills, they spoke in hushed tones to avoid the trap of false expectations.

Almost immediately, Sturridge was a success as a winter transfer. Still just 24, Sturridge looked every bit the player who was Manchester City’s best young player in 2008 and a spark for Chelsea in 2013. Sturridge scored just seven minutes into his debut as a substitute, lifting Liverpool to victory in an FA Cup game. Of course, Sturridge was no stranger to scoring in FA Cup goals, having once led Chelsea in that category.

The goals continued to come heavy and fast for Sturridge, who scored three goals in his first three appearances, making a Paco Alcacer-like impact for The Reds. Months later, he bagged his first career hat trick, putting the finishing touches on a promising first season in Liverpool.

In 2013, Sturridge would prove to be worth more than the 12 million pounds Liverpool reportedly delivered to Chelsea for his goal-scoring expertise. That year, Liverpool played some of the most exciting football in Premier League history. With England’s future best player Raheem Sterling, the legendary Steven Gerrard, one of the absolute best players in the world in Luis Suarez and Sturridge, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had one of the most formidable quartets imaginable.

All four men delivered the goods on a regular basis. That year, Liverpool scored a whopping 101 goals, which is 12 more than their epic 97-point 2018-2019 campaign under Jurgen Klopp. Though, as with this past season, they were unable to eclipse Manchester City in the score sheet or in the standings, they were one tragic, uncharacteristic Gerrard slip away from exorcising the Premier League title demon.

Sturridge played a massive role in that memorable season for The Reds, scoring a career-high 21 goals in 29 Premier League appearances. As a striker partnership, Sturridge and Suarez were untouchable, providing world-class finishing and silky runs both on and off the ball. In fact, Suarez and Sturridge, respectively, were the league leaders in goals scored, and both made it to the PFA Team of the Year. For his part, Sturridge was a PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year nominee in just his first full season with The Reds.

Sadly, Sturridge would never reach those heights at Anfield again. Just as his injuries spelled the end of his career at Chelsea, they quickly caught up to him on his third Premier League club.

An early-season injury sustained while with the English national team derailed Sturridge’s 2014 season, and it even caused a spat between Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and England’s Roy Hodgson. He played in just 12 Premier League games that year, and a hip injury in March prevented him from appearing in 15 games for a second straight campaign in 2015.

Sturridge has failed to score five goals in each of the last three seasons, and this is how his career with Liverpool ends. But even on the way out, the plaudits are still there. Jurgen Klopp called Sturridge a “modern-day Liverpool great,” noting the importance of several of the goals the 29-year-old has scored for The Reds in his career.

It’s a sentiment that should be echoed by the entire fanbase. While Sturridge didn’t play a major role in Liverpool’s Champions League victory in 2018-2019 or even their Champions League Final appearance in the preceding campaign, he was one of the Premier League’s best players when Liverpool made a real charge at the league title five years ago.

In many ways, Sturridge is the man who bridged eras for Liverpool, providing the link between the unbalanced, unsustainable, but thoroughly exciting football under Rodgers to the stable, imaginative, intricate and equally exciting football under Klopp. For years, Sturridge has been a constant for Liverpool, and it was only fitting for his final goal with the club to be his 50th. A left-footed bomb from outside the box hit with marksman’s accuracy, it was a goal exemplifying all the class Sturridge still has even as a seasoned Premier League striker, earning him Goal of the Month honors.

While Sturridge’s Liverpool career has come to a conclusion, the next chapter has yet to be written. He may not be near the player he was in five years ago due to mounting injuries and age, but Sturridge showed once before that he can’t be underestimated.

Regardless, Daniel Sturridge leaves Anfield as a striker who helped define an era of Liverpool – and English – football with his technical class and automatic finishing. For one glorious year, Sturridge stood with Suarez at the top, and he’s been a consummate professional during the Klopp years.

Sturridge is indeed a modern-day great for Liverpool, and fans can always look back fondly on the memories he helped create. Far from a “What if?”, Sturridge was a legitimately great player at his best, and even if that peak didn’t last as long as it could have, he can leave satisfied with his impact on one of football’s proudest clubs — and the reigning Champions League victors.