Don't Panic: Sturridge Wants To Play Football And Will Leave Liverpool Eventually

I really like Daniel Sturridge. Like, a lot. He seems like a good teammate, he's driven, and he does fabulous things with a football, such as putting it in the back of the net on a regular basis. So, it's a bit frustrating for us Sturridge supporters when he gives an poorly timed interview with The Mirror about his disappointment at not playing, and includes comments about not staying at Liverpool forever.

"Maybe people don't see this, but I am someone who wants to play every minute of every match, so maybe when I'm not starting or when I'm taken off, it's hard to take," Sturridge told the Mirror following his noticeable absence from the pitch on Thursday night. "You want to be on the pitch every single match, every single minute."

Considering Sturridge has faced questions about his work ethic and pain tolerance over the course of his multiple injuries and recoveries, he must have felt the need to say something about wanting to play. Still, the timing probably wasn't the best for the prolific striker, given the lack of playing time on Thursday night and the subsequent result.

I imagine that Sturridge doesn't like being treated like fragile dinnerware that you only bring out for special occasions. But equally: dude, you spent like 18 months injured. And given his injury history, our current striker situation, and next Thursday's decisive second leg against Villarreal looming large, I can't imagine Sturridge will feature prominently in Klopp's plans against Swansea.

The England international then said some totally reasonable things about not staying with Liverpool forever, which I'm sure will be taken the wrong way.

"There are things I want to achieve with Liverpool. I would never say I am Liverpool until I die, because I would be lying. I think any player who says ‘oh yeah, this is the only team I will play for, for the rest of my life', they are deluded. In football every team looks for replacements every single year.

"So for myself all I can do every weekend is go out there, perform as well as I can, perform to the best of my abilities, and then come the end of the season hopefully have the European Championships to look forward to...and to next year."

In the modern game nearly all players spend time at several different clubs. Even Steven Gerrard moved on from a life at Liverpool, so the comment is not at all unreasonable. However, as the transfer window approaches statements like these can--and likely will--be taken out of context.