Aston Villa spent much of the January transfer window looking to bring in a new striker.
In the end, they signed Mbwana Samatta and Borja Baston, but that was only after they were linked with a whole host of other centre-forwards. The Villans were said to be in pursuit of Olivier Giroud, Islam Slimani (L’Equipe via Get French Football News) and Michy Batshuayi (Foot Mercato via Get French Football News) amongst others.
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Daniel Sturridge (Fanatik via talkSPORT) was another one who was reportedly on their radar – with it said Villa even made a £4.2m bid. The former Liverpool striker was with Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig, but they did not want to let him depart at the time.
However, there has since been a big development. Soon after it was confirmed on Monday that Sturridge’s contract had been terminated by mutual consent, making the 30-year-old a free agent, it was revealed that he had been banned until the end of the season due to breaching betting regulations.
On paper, the former England international did well in Turkey. He made 16 appearances for Trabzonspor, scoring seven goals and providing three assists. However, the same injury problems that have dogged him throughout his career reared their ugly head – he missed 16 games overall.
At his best, Sturridge is a deadly striker. In 2013/14, he scored 22 goals in 29 matches as the Reds finished second in the Premier League behind Manchester City. That, though, was six years ago – his peak is a long time ago at this stage.
Now, he is unable to sign for another club until the summer. It had looked as though he was off to MLS side Inter Miami, according to journalist Haluk Ayyıldız, but the betting issue now makes that unlikely.
And regardless, moving to the USA would show a sincere lack of ambition – the stateside league cannot compete with Europe’s powerhouse divisions and remains a retirement home for spent forces. Their interest really doesn’t paint Sturridge in a positive light – rather, as a player whose best days are far behind him.
He couldn’t avoid injury problems in Turkey, appears to be on the radar of a club playing in what is often referred to as a retirement league, and is now unable to kick a ball in anger until next season. Villa have had a lucky escape here – they could’ve ended up paying £4.2m to inherit a huge problem.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa fans are underwhelmed by this transfer target.