John Barnes urges Liverpool 27-year-old to commit future to the club
By Matt Farr
Liverpool legend John Barnes has urged Daniel Sturridge to stay at the club this summer.
The 27-year-old striker has been heavily linked with the Anfield exit door at the end of the season, after falling out-of-favour with manager Jurgen Klopp.
Sturridge has made just 14 Premier League appearances this term, of which just five were starts, and has scored only two goals.
The England international is once again facing a battle to prove his fitness to the Liverpool chief, who has become frustrated at his injury proneness and lack of consistency on the field.
Due to his lack of match fitness, the former Chelsea striker has only made more than 15 Premier League appearances in a single season on one occasion during his Anfield career.
But with Liverpool expected to cash-in on Sturridge this summer. Barnes has urged the player to remain in Merseyside.
He told HITC Sport: “Well, I would like to think that he should stick around.
“How is he going to move? First of all, someone has to make an offer for him, someone has to sign him and pay his salary.
“Daniel Sturridge is a fantastic player. If he is fit and he is motivated, I would like to see him stay at Liverpool.”
Klopp has shown a preference towards deploying either Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino in a centre forward role for Liverpool this season, forcing Sturridge and fellow goalscorer Divock Origi into more intermittent roles.
His approach is having a decent effect, with Mane and Firmino contributing 22 goals and 15 assists between them in all competitions.
But Liverpool will need to sign a prolific goalscorer in the summer, one that can guarantee them more than 20 goals per season, if they are to consider themselves a genuine threat in the Premier League and in Europe.
However, that has only added to the speculation that Sturridge is set to leave the club in the next transfer window.
In other Liverpool news, this academy sensation is in line for an international call-up this month.
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