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Why Chelsea need to hang on to Daniel Sturridge

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It seems everyone is speculating as to where Daniel Sturridge will be playing his football next season. However, I believe one of the first jobs of the new Chelsea manager (whoever it may be) should be to keep hold of Daniel Sturridge. Not only has the 21 year highlighted his quality in his recent loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, scoring 8 goals, but I think he showed enough potential in his time at Chelsea before his loan spell to be given a better chance at Stamford Bridge.

Firstly, he is arguably better than what Chelsea currently showcase up front. Salomon Kalou has shown glimpses of his ability but has debatably not really proved he is better than Sturridge, whose clinical left foot finishing possibly eclipses Kalou’s sporadic finishing.

Nicolas Anelka shows exquisite movement, composure and vision up front. However, Sturridge has shown at Bolton with his build-up play with Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies and co that this part of his game has certainly developed over the last year and whereas Anelka can often look lazy and uninterested, I don’t think this would be an issue with Sturridge (given game time).

Ironically, while Chelsea’s 50 million pound signing Fernando Torres has been struggling to hit a barn door for 4 months, Sturridge, who was sent out on loan as the Blues then too many attacking options has been banging them in for fun at Bolton.

This could be seen as clear evidence that Sturridge should be in the Chelsea team ahead of the Spaniard. However, the second main reason I believe Chelsea should hold on to Sturridge is that I think him and Torres could form a fierce partnership in the premier league. Whereas Torres has this season been used as a lone striker or part of a 3 man attack he has sparingly been paired with another striker who can compliment his abilities.

In partnership with Didier Drogba it was a case of two huge egos not hitting it off, Torres seemed unsure of his role when paired with Drogba even when they started alongside each other. With Nicolas Anelka there wasn’t enough direction as Anelka always looked to peel off wide, a habit picked up from having to do this so often when started with Drogba and Malouda; This often left Torres isolated up front and however much his attacking colleagues tried to give him ball, he was either unsure of his position or isolated up front.

With Daniel Sturridge however, I believe the two could work wonders for Chelsea. The movement, agility and speed the two have to offer could strike fear in the hearts of Premier League defences. Similarly to why Liverpool brought in Luis Suarez, to pair with Torres and offer two attackers with such flair that defences wouldn’t know where to look, the next Chelsea manager should take heed of this and pair Torres with Sturridge.

The left-right combination could also reap the benefits for Chelsea, both Sturridge and Torres have shown to be clinical on their preferred feet and with the help of genuine wide men in a 4-4-2 formation I believe Torres and Sturridge could bang them in for fun next season.

Sturridge has shown that when given game time for Chelsea in the FA Cup or Champions league he can score goals, although he only boasts 1 Premier league goal for the Blues, coming in a 7-0 hammering of Stoke. I believe that if given Premier league game time, as he has been at Bolton, he will score goals at the top level.

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  • The point is valid however I feel that Sturridge is a loose cannon, and a liability temperamentally, thus to base a team of Chelsea’s current ambition on such a player is an outlandish gamble.

  • Daniel Sturridge could well prove to be the answer to both Chelsea and England’s attacking problems, potentially ahead of the likes of Torres and Carroll. At just 21 he has already demonstrated great ability, and I feel sound temperament, enough to deserve a new deal at his club, and more regular action. Interesting article, I agree with most points.

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