Daniel Sturridge claims Liverpool team-mate Mario Balotelli is ‘misunderstood’ and admits he can’t wait to strike up a partnership with the Italian.

The former AC Milan forward has struggled to settle at Anfield, following a £16m switch in the summer, and has even been linked with a January transfer window move away from the Merseysiders.

But Sturridge, who has played with the 23-year-old just once due to injury, admits he’s desperate to link up with the ex-Manchester City man when he returns to action.

“We get on well off the field and in the changing rooms. We’re always laughing and joking,” he told Drivetime. “It’s not hugely important to be friends to have a great [football] relationship with somebody, and if you’re not friends you can still have a great partnership, but you can also be friends and have a great partnership.

“Once I get back fit I’m hoping we can strike up a partnership. Last season with Luis [Suarez] we had a great relationship up front and scored a lot of goals. Hopefully this season it will be the same.”

Balotelli’s attitude has been questioned by certain sections of the Anfield crowd, following some below par performances and a controversial shirt-swap at half-time of the Reds’ 3-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.

But Sturridge claims people are too hard on the former Etihad enigma.

“Mario has been under the microscope,” he added. “That will always be the case when you play for a big club. You are going to have a lot of eyes on you.

“Mario’s a great guy, and he’s misunderstood sometimes. A lot of people are harsh on him. I get on really with him though. I have nothing but good words to say about him.

“He’s working hard on the training field. People have told me he’s working tirelessly to play the way we play.

“It’s difficult moving to a new club and having new team-mates, it doesn’t [always] just click straight away. Everybody is helping him and he’s playing well. Sometimes you don’t get the breaks in terms of scoring goals. Every striker goes through times when they don’t score.

“A lot of stories have been put out about him in the past which aren’t true. For him, it’s difficult to shake off the celebrity [tag].

“He’s a likeable person. I don’t have any bad words to say about him. People don’t realise what he’s been through in his life to get where he is today.”