Brendan Rodgers has cast doubt on Daniel Sturridge’s status as Liverpool’s first-choice striker by admitting the club must sign a consistent goalscorer this summer who can perform “at a top level every week”.

Sturridge has appeared in only 18 of Liverpool’s 52 matches this season because of a variety of injuries and misses Saturday’s trip to West Bromwich Albion with the hip problem that forced him out of the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Aston Villa. Rodgers is unsure when the England international will be next available.

The 25-year-old’s fitness record has compounded Liverpool’s problems in attack having sold Luis Suárez to Barcelona and failed to sign a replacement suited to Rodgers’ preferred style of play. Finally remedying that glaring weakness is a priority for the Liverpool manager in the summer and he admits Sturridge’s reliability has to be factored into planning for next season.

Asked whether Sturridge can be considered as Liverpool’s main striker for next season given his injury problems, Rodgers replied: “He’s not fit and once he can show that consistency and fitness, you can see in his performance level that it’s a high one. But obviously he has missed a lot of the season so we need to assess it. Either way, if he’s not available, we need to have that support.”

Rodgers added: “We have to hope with Daniel that this year was just an unlucky season and he can come back super-fit and super-strong because he has an immense talent. You can’t argue with that. He can be as good as any striker in the world with his talent.”

Nevertheless, Rodgers admits adding a top-class goalscorer will be essential to correcting this season’s faults. He said pointedly: “I need one that is going to be playing and at a top level every week.”

Sturridge and Suárez scored 52 Premier League goals between them last season as Rodgers’ team came close to winning Liverpool’s first championship since 1990. This term the established forwards – Sturridge, Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini – have produced eight league goals in total. Raheem Sterling is the leading Premier League goalscorer with seven as Liverpool’s goal ratio has plummeted from an average of 2.66 per game last season (101 in 38 league games) to 1.47 per game this campaign (47 in 32 matches).

“It’s not rocket science,” said Rodgers of Liverpool’s struggle to retain a Champions League place. “We haven’t scored enough goals this year. If the sequence goes on we are on course to be around 60 goals down on last year. That’s a huge amount. I came in the season before and we had 49 goals, so you’re taking nearly a season of goals out of the team.

“It’s simple, we need more of a scoring threat. We missed it immensely this year and obviously that has affected results. I think what the players have done to arrive where we have is credit to them without that. So in the summer we have to try and find goals again. We looked last summer and certainly will again this summer. If we do that we have an opportunity again for next season to be like our second year.”

Liverpool were unable to land Alexis Sánchez, their manager’s first choice to replace Suárez, when they had the lure of Champions League football to offer potential targets last summer. The team are fifth in the Premier League with six matches to play. Rodgers expects more outgoings than incomings at Anfield this summer as he focuses on adding a few proven talents to the spine of his side. He believes Liverpool can compete against wealthier rivals in the transfer market regardless of where the team finish in the table.

“They are not easy to find,” he said of proven goalscorers. “But that is our job. We have to find a way to attract them here. However long I am here or not, Liverpool is a huge attraction for any player so that’s something we will fight hard to do in the summer. It can make a huge difference. If you look at teams who are successful they will have that consistent striker and what that gives the rest of team is crucial. You saw it here with Suárez – the impact that kind of striker can have.”