Transfer Centre

Slaven Bilic fuels speculation of Daniel Sturridge move

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 28 April 2017

West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic admits that he is a fan of Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge amid speculation of a possible summer move for the England international.

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has hinted that the club are interested in signing Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge this summer.

Sturridge has suffered another injury-plagued season at Anfield and, even when he has been fit, he has found himself below the likes of Roberto Firmino and Divock Origi in the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp.

Speculation over a summer move has increased throughout the campaign, with West Ham understood to be one of the frontrunners for the 27-year-old's signature, and Bilic has confirmed that he is an admirer of the striker.

When asked about a possible move, Bilic told reporters: "We are going to see. We have our list of strikers. If you talk about him as a player, especially if you go back two or three seasons he was unbelievable. But [at the time] he wasn't a subject for West Ham.

"Now he plays very rarely, but I watched Stoke against Liverpool the other day. He came on and, with a couple of passes, he broke their defence. He split them up some great passing. So of course he is showing that when he plays — but he plays very rarely.

"They have a lot of quality there and I don't like to comment on the decisions of other managers. I don't know the situation there. I don't see their training. I've just seen enough of their games to know that when they are fit they are doing well. Especially in that area with [Sadio] Mane, [Philippe] Coutinho and [Adam] Lallana. So what can I say? When he is on fire, [Sturridge] is a great player."

Sturridge has started just five Premier League games for Liverpool all season and only 23 over the past three campaigns.