According to claims from De Marke Sports (h/t Birmingham Live), former Aston Villa target Daniel Sturridge has admitted that his move to Turkey with Trabzonspor in the summer was a crazy transfer decision.
Aston Villa were among a host of clubs linked with a free transfer for the 30-year-old England international in the summer following his release from Liverpool but Sturridge eventually shocked everybody with a surprise move to Turkey.
The report (h/t Birmingham Live) doesn’t clearly mention whether Sturridge is regretting his move to Turkey or is trying to open the door for a return to his homeland, but the 30-year-old has expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards Liverpool, recalling all the love that he had received from the fans at Anfield over the course of his illustrious six-year spell in Merseyside.
Sturridge’s last few years at Liverpool were blighted by injuries and despite returning to full fitness last season, he was only afforded a bit-part role by Jurgen Klopp, who seemed to prefer Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri as more reliable back-ups for Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
However, the England international, who had won the Champions League with Chelsea earlier in his career back in 2012, repeated the same feat with the Reds and signed off on a high with his second European winner’s medal.
Sturridge is yet to establish himself as a regular starter at Trabzobnspor but he has scored and assisted two apiece in five league appearances so far, while also playing a part in the club’s UEFA Europa League campaign.
In fairness to him, it’s still too early in the season to jump to a conclusion and it will be interesting to see how his adventure in Turkey pans out in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa went on to sign Wesley Moraes from Club Brugge for a club-record fee of £22million as a part of their summer rebuild that saw as many as twelve new players come through the door at Villa Park.
A permanent deal for Anwar El Ghazi was agreed on while Jota and Trezeguet were among the other attacking recruits to make their way to the club in the summer.
To that end, however, Villa are yet to hit the ground running in full force in the Premier League.this term. With the Lions still languishing in 16th position in the standings, Dean Smith could be forced to dip into the market once again in January to add fuel to the club’s bid for survival in the top-flight.
Lack of goals has often been the main reason behind the undoing of promoted sides in the Premier League and a return of 16 goals in 11 games, though not really bad, is still something that Villa should be looking to improve on in the coming months to enhance their chances of survival.
Despite netting four goals so far, Wesley has blown hot and cold and given that neither Jonathan Kodjia nor Keinan Davis is a proven back-up at the Premier League level, reigniting interest in a tried and tested English striker like Daniel Sturridge would certainly make a lot of sense.
A veteran of more than 200 Premier League appearances, one might argue that Sturridge never really went on to fulfil his true potential as a striker, but at the age of 30, the Birmingham-born star still has a lot to offer at the highest level and he could still be a dream acquisition for any club in the top-flight, not to mention Aston Villa, who are battling relegation.
Of course, Villa would need to fork out some money if they choose to go back in the market for him in January as opposed to his situation in the summer when he was available for free, but his proven pedigree in the Premier League certainly makes him a worthy prospect and hardly a gamble.
That said, Aston Villa going all out for Daniel Sturridge in January could go a long way towards ensuring safety in the Premier League.
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