West Brom boss Alan Pardew hailed it as “a big coup”. Daniel Sturridge described his loan move to the Hawthorns as “the right fit”.

The attraction is clear. The Baggies' battle for Premier League survival gets a shot in the arm, while Sturridge returns home to the Midlands with the promise of the regular game time he craves in order to stake a claim for a place in England's World Cup squad.

The question is what do Liverpool get out of it?

Having already sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona during the January window, why reduce their attacking options still further by off-loading the 28-year-old frontman?

Financially, it's beneficial but it was hardly too good to turn down.

The overall package is worth around £3.8million to Liverpool with West Brom paying a £2million loan fee and all of his wages for the rest of the campaign.

The Reds had initially been seeking a permanent deal after slapping a £30million price tag on Sturridge. Considering his fitness record over the past four seasons, unsurprisingly no such offers were forthcoming.

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Jurgen Klopp's decision to sanction a loan is bound to divide opinion amongst supporters.

Many will feel that Sturridge could still have had an important role to play as the Reds chase a top-four Premier League finish and Champions League glory over the coming months.

Yes, a succession of injuries have taken their toll since the heights he hit under Brendan Rodgers in 2013/14.

Yes, he's never been able to truly convince that he's the right fit for Klopp and has slipped down the pecking order following the rise of Roberto Firmino.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

And yes, he's been on the periphery of the squad all season and has only started one game since October.

However, Sturridge remains a top class finisher and Liverpool aren't exactly blessed with too many of them.

Loaning him out would be easier to understand if the Reds had already replaced Coutinho and had plenty in reserve.

But they haven't and they don't. Now they find themselves in a situation where if Firmino got injured, Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke would be competing to lead the line.

Klopp could also play 25-goal top scorer Mohamed Salah through the middle but then that would mean shifting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out wide and leaving Liverpool short of dynamic midfield options.

Ings is on the comeback trail after two serious knee injuries and Solanke is still raw and learning his trade following his arrival from Chelsea last summer. Neither has a senior goal to his name this season.

15 times LFC have been glad of Daniel Sturridge

Of course it's worth remembering that it was Sturridge himself who was pressing for a move.

He told Klopp he didn't want to hang around as a squad player for the second half of the campaign having only made five starts in all competitions this season.

As the Coutinho saga underlined, the Liverpool boss isn't keen on keeping players who aren't fully committed to the cause.

Reliability was another issue. There have been times when Klopp has wanted to use Sturridge but couldn't due to various aches and pains.

Sadly, it's been too long since Sturridge was pivotal to Liverpool. Since Klopp took over he has started just 20 of the Reds' 92 Premier League matches.

His contribution had dwindled. Off-loading him is one thing, the real issue is the lack of depth in the striking department he leaves behind.