Daniel Sturridge costing Liverpool more than £500,000 per goal as Jurgen Klopp looks to 'cash in' on striker
Forward earns £150,000-a-week at Anfield but his increasingly rare appearances mean he is becoming a burden on the club
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Your support makes all the difference.Daniel Sturridge’s horrendous injury record at Liverpool means the striker’s cost to the club is now a staggering £542,000 per goal.
The £150,000-a-week forward has scored 44 goals in his three-year Anfield career – but just four in six appearances this season as his prolonged spells on the sidelines with a series of niggling injuries have hit the club’s finances.
Jurgen Klopp is ready to ‘cash in’ on the forward, according to reports today, with West Ham United understood to be lining up an £18m bid.
Sturridge’s cost stands in stark contrast to some of the Premier League’s other leading strikers. Both Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud (£318,000 per goal) and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (£429,000 per goal) represent greater value and both have far superior fitness and scoring records.
Wayne Rooney costs Manchester United £733,000 per goal but, considering he has been at Old Trafford for 11 years and scored more than 240 goals, the club will feel that is money well spent.
Harry Kane’s modest earnings represent good value for Tottenham at £234,000 per goal, although that figure would rise sharply should the forward earn a new deal or a high-profile transfer. The same goes for Jamie Vardy at Leicester City (£186,000 per goal).
Sturridge’s situation is likely to be causing considerable alarm inside Anfield and is also attracting criticism from outside, with Dietmar Hamann this week urging Klopp to ‘stop protecting’ the striker and suggesting his injury problems are ‘all in his head’.
Sturridge will not be available for tonight’s FA Cup tie against Exeter City as Klopp cited more fitness ‘issues’ with the 26-year-old former Chelsea player.
Cost per goal for Premier League's top strikers...
Jamie Vardy - £186,000 per goal
Harry Kane - £234,000
Olivier Giroud - £318,000
Sergio Aguero - £429,000
Daniel Sturridge - £542,000
Wayne Rooney - £733,000
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