Daniel Sturridge has cost West Bromwich Albion a staggering £50,000 a minute since his January loan move, but Alan Pardew has defended the signing of the Liverpool striker.

Struggling West Brom paid £3.8 million to land the England international but he has played only 77 minutes of football and the deal is under increasing scrutiny after he was ruled out for the next two games.

In a week when there were revelations over the club’s poor financial position, Sturridge will miss Saturday’s visit of Burnley and is likely to be out of next weekend’s crucial game against Swansea, ensuring he will miss seven matches in a row.

The 28 year-old joined West Brom in a bid to revive his hopes of playing at the World Cup but those chances are now over after an excruciating period for the forward, who suffered from persistent injury problems at Liverpool.

Pardew’s recruitment of Sturridge was seen as a huge boost in their fight for survival, after scrapping bids for Watford’s Troy Deeney and Leicester’s Islam Slimani.