Daniel Sturridge: Liverpool striker confirms he is happy at Anfield and ready to play under Jurgen Klopp

Sturridge’s future was the subject of much conjecture during his prolonged injury period earlier this season

Mark Critchley
Wednesday 24 February 2016 15:57 GMT
Comments
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Daniel Sturridge has confirmed that he is happy at Liverpool and rubbished speculation suggesting he did not want to play for the club.

The England international was speaking alongside manager Jurgen Klopp ahead of the Europa League round-of-32 second leg against Augsburg at Anfield on Thursday.

Sturridge’s future was the subject of much conjecture during his prolonged injury period earlier this season, which saw him feature in just six of Liverpool’s first 26 league games this season.

The former Manchester City and Chelsea striker’s desire was questioned and it was even alleged that he had 'fallen out of love' with football.

Sturridge, however, took the opportunity to reaffirm his commitment to Liverpool in front of the media on Wednesday and insisted that he is looking forward to working under Klopp.

"It's important to worry about the present. It's been a difficult time but now I'm looking forward to the future with Liverpool,” he said. “I’m happy here.

"To say a player doesn't want to play is the biggest disrespect you can make to a footballer. I don't think anyone understands how much it means to me to play football."

Klopp, who routinely fielded questions on Sturridge’s future during the striker’s period of absence, echoed the player’s words

"I agree with everything Daniel said. It was interesting to hear what you asked. It's good. A few things are more clear now," he said.

"[Daniel] is a really good footballer and now he is able to play which is what we want to see all the time."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in