Daniel Sturridge
Daniel Andre Sturridge is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Since 2023, he has worked as a television pundit for Sky Sports.
Sturridge was scouted by Aston Villa and played for a number of years in their younger academy sides before moving to Coventry City in 2002. He then signed for Manchester City in 2003. He continued his development at City and played in two FA Youth Cup finals. He made his first-team debut in the 2007–08 season, becoming the only player to score in the FA Youth Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in the same season. He left City in 2009 to sign for Chelsea, where he was loaned to Bolton Wanderers for the second half of the 2010–11 season. After a successful spell at Bolton, scoring eight goals in 12 appearances, he returned to Chelsea for the 2011–12 season, winning the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
He left Chelsea to join Liverpool in January 2013, where he formed an attacking partnership with Luis Suárez. Liverpool scored more than 100 goals in the 2013–14 Premier League season with Sturridge scoring 21 goals, behind only Suárez on 31. The following two seasons were curtailed by injuries, limiting Sturridge to very few appearances. He scored the opening goal in the 2016 UEFA Europa League final, although Liverpool eventually lost the game to Sevilla. He featured most often as a substitute in the next seasons under manager Jürgen Klopp, but was part of the UEFA Champions League-winning squad in 2019. He subsequently had spells with Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and Australian A-League club Perth Glory.
Sturridge has represented England at all levels. He made his debut for the senior team against Denmark in November 2011 and was selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016, earning 26 England caps in total. He also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Daniel Andre Sturridge was born on 1 September 1989 in Birmingham, West Midlands. He is the son of former footballer Mike Sturridge, and the nephew of former footballers Dean and Simon Sturridge. Sturridge is of Jamaican descent, with all of his grandparents being born in Jamaica. He is a relative of former Jamaican footballer Calvin Stewart.Sturridge was a supporter of Derby County when he was younger because his uncle Dean played for them, but once he left, Sturridge started supporting Arsenal instead.
Club career
Youth career
Daniel Sturridge began his football career at the age of seven at local club Cadbury Athletic, before being scouted, and subsequently signed by the youth academy of Aston Villa. According to Villa academy director Bryan Jones, Sturridge's father Michael was given a part-time scouting role by Villa but made demands that his role was made full-time or he would leave for Coventry City and take his son with him. Sturridge did leave Villa in 2002 to move to Coventry City, resulting in Aston Villa putting a case to the Premier League 'poaching committee' but it was refused.From Coventry, Sturridge subsequently joined Manchester City's Academy in 2003. A Football League committee later ordered Manchester City to pay Coventry £30,000 compensation, with further payments up to a maximum of £170,000 based upon appearances and international honours. The following year, he was the leading scorer and voted player of the tournament as City won the Nike Cup, the world's largest under-15 tournament. At 16, he played for Manchester City Youth during their 2006 FA Youth Cup run. The youngest player in the team, he scored four goals en route to the final, and another two in the final, though they were insufficient to prevent a 3–2 aggregate defeat to Liverpool. That summer, he signed his first professional contract, which came into effect when he turned 17.
Manchester City
From the start of the 2006–07 season, Sturridge began to train with the City first team. A hat-trick in a reserve match was rewarded by a place on the substitutes' bench for the senior team's match with Reading in February 2007. He duly made his debut from the bench, replacing Georgios Samaras for the final quarter-hour. He made a second substitute appearance a month later, but then suffered a hip injury which sidelined him for the remainder of 2007.Sturridge scored his first goal for City on 27 January 2008 in an FA Cup match against Sheffield United, followed three days later by his first league goal on his full debut, against Derby County. However, first-team opportunities were quite sporadic, so Sturridge continued to play for the youth team in the FA Youth Cup. City again reached the final, with Sturridge the leading scorer in the competition. This time City won the final, with Sturridge scoring in the first leg. In the 2007–08 season, Sturridge became the only player ever to score in the Youth FA Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League in the same season.
Sturridge contributed in the 2008–09 season with 26 appearances and scoring 4 goals. On 28 December 2008, in a league match against Blackburn Rovers, City were trailing 2–0. Coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, Sturridge scored in the 88th minute of the match taking advantage of a header by André Ooijer. He also went on to assist Robinho's injury time goal. Manager Mark Hughes said that Sturridge was a player with great potential and had an impact in the game. He also praised his assist, saying "he picked out Robinho for the equaliser in an area where we had been struggling to find him". At the end of the season, he was voted as the club's Young Player of the Year.
Chelsea
2009–10 season
With Sturridge's contract at Manchester City expired, he signed for Chelsea on 3 July 2009 on a four-year contract. As Sturridge was under the age of 24, and the two clubs were unable to agree a deal, the fee for Sturridge was decided by a tribunal. The Professional Football Compensation Committee decided on 14 January 2010 that Chelsea would pay an initial fee of £3.5 million, with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 appearances. There would also be a further payment of £1 million if Sturridge made a full international appearance, and Manchester City in addition would receive 15 per cent of any sell-on fee if Sturridge was transferred, after these add ons the fee for the player reached an eventual fee of £8.3m. Sturridge made his Premier League debut for Chelsea on 18 August 2009 against Sunderland, coming on for Didier Drogba. On 28 October, he made his first start for the club in a League Cup win against Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.Sturridge made his first start in the Premier League for Chelsea away against Birmingham City on 26 December 2009 and scored his first two goals for Chelsea against Watford in the FA Cup third round on 3 January 2010. Sturridge continued to show his ability with a real poacher's effort in a 2–0 victory in the FA Cup against Preston North End, scoring his third goal for Chelsea in January. On 13 February, he netted again against Cardiff City, as Chelsea won 4–1. Sturridge scored his first League goal for Chelsea on 25 April 2010, in a 7–0 victory over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, by latching onto a through ball, before rounding goalkeeper Asmir Begović and slotting the ball home. During the 2010 FA Cup final, he came on as a 90th-minute substitute for Chelsea as they won 1–0 against Portsmouth. Sturridge finished the 2009–10 FA Cup campaign as the leading scorer for Chelsea with four goals.
2010–11 season
On 15 September 2010, Sturridge made his full UEFA Champions League debut against Slovakian team MŠK Žilina. He scored on his debut, his first Champions League tally, in a 4–1 away victory. In the Premier League, in a 1–0 loss to his former club Manchester City, Sturridge came on as a substitute for striker Didier Drogba. He scored his second goal in the Champions League against Žilina, which Chelsea went on to win 2–1 at home. Later that season, he scored two right-footed goals against Ipswich Town.On 31 January 2011, Sturridge joined Bolton Wanderers on a loan deal until the end of the season. He made his debut two days later, coming on as a substitute at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring his first goal in the process, an injury time winner. He followed this with another goal in the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur the following weekend, in which he made his first start, before scoring his third goal in three matches in the 2–0 victory over Everton. After Sturridge scored the equaliser against Newcastle United in his fourth match, he became only the sixth player to score in his first four matches for a club in the Premier League. Sturridge continued to make an impact at Bolton and finished his loan spell with eight goals in 12 appearances at the club. Having never been booked in his career, Sturridge received his first ever red card in the final match of the season against former club Manchester City.
2011–12 season
Having received a red card in his final match for Bolton, Sturridge was suspended for the first three competitive matches in the 2011–12 season for Chelsea. Despite rumours linking him with a move away on deadline day, Sturridge remained in West London amidst strong support from his manager André Villas-Boas, who said, "He would have been playing if he was not suspended from last season." In his first match back from suspension, at Sunderland, Sturridge started and scored with a back-heel in the 50th minute to put Chelsea up 2–0 in an eventual 2–1 victory. Sturridge returned to the Reebok Stadium on 2 October 2011, scoring twice within the first 30 minutes, the first a header after 90 seconds from a corner and the second a long-shot from outside the box that goalkeeper Ádám Bogdán erred in saving. Sturridge also provided an assist to Frank Lampard's goal in the 15th minute of the match, which eventually ended 5–1. On 15 October 2011, Sturrdge scored against Everton in a 3–1 win, giving him four league goals in four matches. He then came on as a substitute in the League Cup match against Everton in the 90th-minute, in which he scored a 116th-minute winner, which saw Chelsea win 2–1 in extra time to put them in the last eight.Sturridge scored his seventh goal in the Premier League season in a 3–0 victory for Chelsea against Newcastle. On 13 December, during the fixture against Sturridge former club Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, Sturridge provided an assist for a Raul Meireles goal in the 34th minute. The match ended a 2–1 victory, when Frank Lampard scored a late penalty after Joleon Lescott handled Sturridge's shot in the penalty area. Sturridge scored in the away 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic; he controlled Ashley Cole's diagonal long ball with his left foot, then scored with his right from a tight angle to give Chelsea the lead in the 59th minute. On 22 December, during Chelsea's away clash with Tottenham, he scored his ninth goal in the 2011–12 domestic season, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw away at White Hart Lane. Sturridge scored his team's first goal in a 4–2 win against Aston Villa. He scored the opener in fantastic style after 45 seconds with his 11th Premier League goal of the season against local rivals Queens Park Rangers on 29 April, which Chelsea ran out 6–1 winners to keep Champions League qualification alive. He was an unused substitute as Chelsea won the 2012 UEFA Champions League final.