Ahead of the opening fixture of the Premier League season for the 2018/2019 season, let’s look at what the role could be of Daniel Sturridge in the upcoming season. In the pre-season matches, he played in the ‘9’ position where Roberto Firmino plays on a regular basis. In previous seasons Sturridge did not track back like Firmino did and do the ‘dirty work’. However, ever since his woeful loan spell at West Bromwich Albion, Sturridge seems to be a lot more willing to work harder for the team and he has often been seen dropping further back to help out the attack.

With Sturridge now working harder for the team, his pre-season goal record and the form of Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke, he now seems the best possible back-up for Roberto Firmino and depending on the opponent and form, Sturridge could even start ahead of the Brazilian if he can keep up his fitness.

Daniel Sturridge has proven this pre-season that he is still one of the best finishers in the Premier League and despite losing a yard of pace, he can still get in very good positions and be a threat against not just any team in the Premier League but any team in world football. He has proven in previous seasons that he has the talent to be up there with the best but fitness has let him down. If he can keep up his pre-season fitness and form, he might finally be able to become one of the best once again.

If we go back to 2013/2014, we had signed Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea, a player who always showed quality but had injury problems at the wrong times. In his first full season with Liverpool, he was a part of one of the best strike-forces in Europe alongside Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez. He almost single-handedly along with Suarez won Liverpool their first league title since 1990 but they just fell short to Manchester City at the end. Comparing that to 2018/2019, Daniel Sturridge is an experienced striker at the high level but injuries have stopped him from becoming one of the best in the world. We have arguably the best front three in world football in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane and Sturridge is on the fringes of that strike-force as a genuine option for certain matches or from the bench. Sturridge has been showing signs of a good partnership with Naby Keita and with Xherdan Shaqiri and Liverpool’s options in their strike-force look better than ever combined with a world-class manager in Jurgen Klopp.

If Daniel Sturridge can stay fit this season, he could be a top-class option from the bench when Liverpool need a goal and could even start in certain matches and when Firmino cannot play for whatever reason.