West Ham have been installed the strong favourites to sign Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge in the January window, according to the latest bookmakers’ odds.
Sky Bet priced the Londoners as 4/1 favourites on Thursday evening to capture the prolific goalscorer before 3 February next year.
West Ham are a long way ahead in the better of rival clubs, who include Newcastle United (8/1), Everton (12/1), Southampton (16/1) and Arsenal (20/1).
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted earlier this week that Sturridge will not be allowed to leave the club during January even though he has spent much of the season on the sidelines.
The forward, 28, has been fit for most of the campaign but has started only four of his 12 appearances, which have yielded three goals and two assists.
OPINION
Sturridge may no longer be a first choice for Liverpool, where Roberto Firmino is the favoured spearhead of Klopp, but he remains a fine striker who would decorate most teams in the division. He has lost some of the pace that once made him one of the Premier League’s most feared forwards, but his touch, technique and eye for goal remain intact. Furthermore, he has a brilliant Premier League scoring record that no West Ham player can match. In 131 Liverpool matches Sturridge has banged in 64 goals at virtually one every other game. His 193 top flight matches for Liverpool and former clubs Chelsea and Manchester City have resulted in 75 goals. Even a souped-down Sturridge would be a great Hammers signing.