Daniel Sturridge: Liverpool feels like home again
"I'm enjoying myself and enjoying my football. I can't ask for any more."
The words of Daniel Sturridge will come as music to Liverpool fansâ ears.
After spending the second half of last season away from the club as the Reds narrowly missed out on Champions League glory, the striker is back.
Back and in brilliant form, on and off the pitch.
âI love it here. I love the lads and the banter in the group is unbelievable. I feel at home again,â he tells Liverpoolfc.com at the team hotel in Charlotte, the day after he impressed again in the International Champions Cup meeting with Borussia Dortmund.
Sturridge speaks with a smile that seems to have grown increasingly since returning for pre-season training on July 2.
Each appearance so far this summer has provided a glimpse of the No.15âs natural ability to influence a game. âThe second half without Daniel would have looked completely different,â said JĂźrgen Klopp on Sunday.
His role is evidently changing, too, with greater emphasis â self-imposed â on dropping deep to fashion as well as finish goalscoring chances.
âIâm probably just doing more. Itâs important for me to try to get involved,â he explains.
âPlaying on the shoulder is what I like to do but itâs also important to come and get involved and get in and around the oppositionâs No.6. Itâs adding more strings to my bow and giving the manager more options if he needs to play me deeper.
âBut wherever I play, it doesnât matter â itâs just important to get the minutes.â
Itâs an evolution that has occurred naturally rather than on instruction.
âIt has just happened. I think Iâve always been capable of doing that but Iâve always been on the shoulder, so I havenât done it as often as I am now,â adds Sturridge.
âBut it doesnât matter where I play or which role Iâm in, as long as Iâm out there and pushing myself to my limits. The minutes are important in pre-season, putting your best foot forward and working as hard as you can.â
While Liverpool were reaching the heights of the Champions League final in the last months of the season, Sturridgeâs loan switch to West Bromwich Albion did not work out as hoped.
The 28-year-old played only six games for the Baggies as they suffered relegation from the Premier League.
Understandably, the experience has sharpened the Englishmanâs desire to come back and be part of Kloppâs project. And he returns with greater appreciation for its nuances.
âIt was important for me to get my head in the right place and evolve as a person. I had things that I needed to sort out with my family and things like that,â he says.
âIâm just happy to be back and to push myself and be part of the group again.
âWhen I went away I learned too. Thatâs also a good thing. When youâre not involved in the environment you learn a lot about yourself, the team, watching from afar and seeing how the team are playing. You can learn more when youâre outside the environment.
âI learned a lot watching the games the boys were playing in and also being away and being in a different teamâs environment and seeing how they work too.â
Sturridgeâs pre-season form, coupled with the late returns of the Redsâ World Cup participants, could present the striker with an opportunity.
The Premier League campaign gets under way in three weeksâ time and claims can be staked for a place in Kloppâs starting XI against West Ham United at Anfield.
But the man himself is not getting hung up on specifics. His is a long-term plan.
âMy ambition is to train hard and work hard in pre-season,â Sturridge concludes.
âThere are a lot of running sessions and a lot more pre-season games to go. And thereâs no pressure. There are a lot of games during the season so itâs about giving your all when you get your minutes.
âIâm not putting any pressure on myself or the management or my teammates. Itâs about enjoying myself. Iâm part of an unbelievable group, we have a chance to be successful this season. Everybody is pulling together and being part of that unity â being together as one and trying to make this team successful â is what itâs all about.
âWe want to win trophies and we want to be successful. It starts now and itâs a long season.
âIt doesnât matter whether you play the first game or the 50th game â as long as youâre involved in the journey thatâs all that matters
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