OK Sturridge is brilliant when on form and fit. But let's not pretend before the last game every time he played he was immense, because it is simply not true. The last several cameo's he has had he has looked lethargic and a shadow of his old self.
Perhaps the reason for the great display last time out was because of the time on the bench, he has recently had.
Because he wasn't fit. Let's not pretend it was otherwise. A fit Sturridge puts the fear of god into defenders. Besides, it's not like Origi has been red hot this season despite playing a hell of a lot more games than Sturridge so if we were to sell any I'd rather go with the lesser strikers, starting with Ings.
As for keeping or selling him, it comes down to a simple thing. Big clubs do not sell players who can make radical impacts in their performances until such time as they're able to replace that player with one who can make an equal, or better impact. If we want to be a big club we need to start thinking like a big club. We need the highest quality players in the squad so Klopp can stop being so tactically one dimensional and have options for both specific types of games and from the bench. Forget about his wages, focus on his potential impact. Playing a 4-3-3 with Firmino through the middle is good against teams who will come out and attack, usually in the first half of the season and against the top six clubs, but having a player whose game intelligence is capable of slicing open defences is helpful against teams that want to park the bus, especially the lower half of the table during the second half of the season were the fear of relegation means every point counts.
Danny Ings has spent even more time on the treatment table the last two years than Sturridge and the only reason no one suggests he be sold is because he's on substantially less wages, but the reason he's on substantially less wages is because he's a substantially less talented player. Where is the sense in keeping the lesser talent and selling your greater talent? So unless you come to me with a player of equal or greater talent than Sturridge, and FSG are willing to pay him £150K a week to get him over the line, then we shouldn't be thinking of selling one of our most talented players, regardless of injury susceptibility. The most successful clubs build their squads by buying players who are better than the ones they have, not by keeping those who are worse.
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