Thursday 15 December 2016 17:03, UK
Daniel Sturridge will have to leave Liverpool in the upcoming January transfer window in order to find first-team football, according to former Rangers forward Kris Boyd.
The England international has been plagued by injuries over the past two-and-a half years and is currently on the sidelines recovering from his latest complaint, a calf problem suffered in November.
In his absence, Belgium forward Divock Origi has taken on the goalscoring mantle for Liverpool and has not disappointed, netting five times in five matches, including one in Wednesday's 3-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Sturridge has started just four times in the Premier League this season with manager Jurgen Klopp preferring to deploy Roberto Firmino in an advanced forward role, leaving Boyd in no doubt that the 27-year-old will be made surplus to requirements at Anfield in the new year.
"I don't think there's any question about how good Daniel Sturridge is as a player, but I think his time is up at Liverpool and he'll have to move on to find regular football," he told Premier League Daily.
"There's no doubt he's a talented footballer, but when somebody is coming in and scoring goals like Origi has, every time he has come in he has not let Liverpool down, it's difficult.
"Does Klopp really fancy Sturridge? Even when he's fit, he's not played a lot of football."
Sturridge, who has been linked with a switch to West Ham, has scored 57 times in 103 matches for Liverpool since joining from Chelsea in January 2013.
He formed a sensational partnership with Luis Suarez during the 2013/14 campaign, which nearly propelled Liverpool to their first league title since 1990, with the duo scoring a combined 52 goals.
But since Suarez's departure to Barcelona, Sturridge has struggled to maintain fitness and form, falling down the pecking order under Klopp.
Former England defender Danny Mills, who played alongside Sturridge during his early years at Manchester City, echoed Boyd's views and believes a lack of consistency has proven to be the forward's major downfall.
"He [Klopp] has questioned his attitude at times, he's questioned his hunger and desire to really want to play at times, is he really injured?," Mills said.
"You don't get moved on from Manchester City, then get moved on from Chelsea and then maybe get moved on from Liverpool unless there's something not quite right.
"I worked with him during his early days at Manchester City, potentially then he was superb, his ability is second to none, he's outstanding and a great goalscorer.
"He had that fantastic couple of seasons at Liverpool with [Luis] Suarez, but Suarez did an awful lot of hard work for that team.
"Does Daniel Sturridge give you enough and enough on a consistent level to warrant being in the team week in, week out?
"Origi has maybe not got the same talent, but you know what you're going to get and as a manager you like that. Sturridge can be a 10 out of 10, but he can be a 3 out of 10 and managers don't like that."
