West Bromwich Albion fought off interest from Newcastle United to secure the services of Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge on loan until the end of the season.
Baggies head coach Alan Pardew had plenty of praise for his latest arrival.
“Since I’ve been here I’ve tried to change the emphasis to a more attacking mode by playing with two strikers but the goals for column hasn’t significantly moved.
I wanted to add to that positivity and bring in a statement player who’s got a good record and scores one goal every two games or just over that.
Daniel has the potential, particularly against teams I think where you need goal, where you need to break them down, he has some individual flair that not many players can match”.
Meanwhile, Sturridge also believes he has made the right choice in moving to the Hawthorns:
“I’ve got friends here I’ve played with before, the manager spoke very well, the challenge with the team and the style of play . . . I just felt this was the right fit for me.”
The History
Born in Birmingham, Sturridge had spells with Aston Villa and Coventry City during his youth career before joining Manchester City in 2003 at the age of 14.
He progressed to make his professional debut as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Reading in February 2007.
After producing six goals and four assists in 32 appearances for City in all competitions, Sturridge decided to move to Chelsea in the summer of 2009 following the expiration of his contract.
His first 18 months in west London saw his first-team opportunities extremely limited, hastening a loan move to Bolton Wanderers for the second half of the 2010/11 season.
Sturridge enjoyed a terrific spell with the Trotters, scoring eight goals in 12 matches, but despite producing 11 goals and four assists in 30 league outings for Chelsea in 2011/12, he was allowed to depart for Liverpool in January 2013.
The early stages of his Anfield career were hugely productive, with 22 goals and eight assists during the 2013/14 campaign the highlight.
But a combination of injuries and Jurgen Klopp’s preference to play Roberto Firmino as the Reds’ centre-forward have limited his opportunities in recent seasons.
Capped by England at every level from U16s to U21s, Sturridge made his senior debut against Sweden in November 2011.
He has netted eight times in 26 matches for England, with his last appearance coming in October 2017.
The Prospects
Given that neither Salomon Rondon nor Jay Rodriguez have been prolific goalscorers in the Premier League, Sturridge’s proven pedigree should provide an extra level of quality to West Brom’s forward line.
An outstanding finisher, Sturridge also possesses clever movement, and while he may have lost a little pace in recent years, is still a threat running in behind opposition defences.
As his new manager acknowledged, keeping the injury-prone frontman out of the treatment room will be vital.
“When you sign anybody, you can lose them straight away, all you can do is treat them with good faith and hopefully they steer clear of injury and if you get a run with Daniel, hopefully he’ll respond with goals.
Of course, like all players, it’s a concern. Some players get injured more than others, Daniel fits that category, we’re going to make sure that everything we can do in terms of preparation is fulfilled.”
After netting 10 times over the opening 13 Gameweeks, West Brom have managed just nine goals since Pardew’s appointment.
However, the underlying statistics tell a different story.
They had fired 108 shots, with 64 attempts from inside the penalty area before the change of management.
Under Pardew, however, they have registered 146 goal attempts, while 92 shots inside the box is eighth best and level with Man United.
But whereas United have netted 21 times, for example, the Baggies’ nine goals means they have scored just 6.2% of their opportunities – down from 9.3% prior to Pardew’s appointment.
Only Brighton (4.1%) boast a less impressive goal conversion rate from Gameweek 14 onwards.
It’s easy to see why Pardew has dipped into the market to address this.
Rondon’s most impressive year in two seasons for the Baggies was a nine-goal return in 2015/16, while Rodriguez – another whose career has been blighted by injuries – has scored more than six goals in just one of his previous four campaigns in the top-flight.
Admittedly, last season and the current one have been write-offs for Sturridge. With just 12 of his 30 appearances across this time in the Liverpool XI, he has just five goals and four assists to his name.
Yet looking at the period directly beforehand gives a far better indication of his abilities as a first-choice forward. From 2012/13 up until 2015/16, Sturridge was among the top three forwards for minutes per goal in three of those four seasons.
On the plus side for Pardew, West Brom are now set to enter a very kind stretch in their schedule.
They only face one of the current top six over the next eight Gameweeks, with Southampton, Huddersfield Town, Leicester City, Burnley and Swansea City all visiting the Hawthorns.
That run can help provide the platform for Sturridge to make an immediate impact in his new surroundings.
He also has the motivation of a place in Gareth Southgate’s FIFA World Cup squad to fight for as we enter the final few months of the season.
Sturridge made his Baggies debut as a substitute in last night’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Promisingly, he produced two shots in just 12 minutes in his first Premier League appearance since Gameweek 13.
That is typical of Sturridge, who, over the last four seasons, has averaged a shot every 19-20 minutes each time. That is true again over his ten appearances this season, with only Harry Kane bettering his statistic of a shot every 19.3 minutes.
However, aside from the concerns over his fitness, Sturridge’s price tags of 7.9 in Fantasy Premier League and 11.1 in the Sky Sports game are somewhat prohibitive.
That argument is reinforced by the fact that Rodriguez – who has scored five goals in his last seven matches in all competitions – is available at 5.5 in FPL and 9.4 in Sky Sports.
And Rodriguez also appears to have penalty duties at present, having netted from the spot against Arsenal in Gameweek 21.
Saturday’s home meeting with Southampton looks the perfect opportunity to assess the West Brom forward line, then, ahead of the strong fixtures that follow from Gameweek 28 onwards.
But at this point, the value offered by Rodriguez looks the most appealing and could see him challenge the likes of Jordan Ayew and Callum Wilson as the budget striker of choice over the final few months of the campaign.
