‘Never seen talent like it’: Richards says 32-year-old Klopp let go was ‘up there with the best’

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Speaking on the BBC Match of the Day Top 10 Podcast, Micah Richards has been full of praise for Liverpool’s former star striker Daniel Sturridge.

Richards was tasked with naming the best XI filled with his former teammates, and while Richards has played with some of the best strikers in history, he found space for Sturridge in his team.

Sturridge played alongside Richards as a youngster at Man City, and while the striker would go on to bigger and better things, the attacker made a big impact on Richards as a youngster.

What’s been said about Sturridge?

Richards was full of praise for the ex-Liverpool star.

“He had hip problems when he was younger, so it’s a long story. Every time he got into a flow his hip would go and that was from the academy at 16 or 17. He had that spell at Liverpool when you couldn’t touch him,” Richards said.

“He came to City from Coventry, and honestly I’ve never seen talent like it, he should have been like Aguero, he was the best young player, but they played Ched Evans ahead of him, they were playing 4-5-1 at City and Ched was a big lad and he could control it a bit better, so he decided he wanted to play where he was appreciated.

“Even when he was at Chelsea, he had 10 goals and 10 assists up until January, people don’t realise, and then when he went to Liverpool his record, his goals to 100 games is up there with the best in Liverpool history.”

If only

Richards’ comments serve as a reminder of just how good Daniel Sturridge was and how good he could have been.

Sadly, as every Liverpool fan knows, the striker was struck down in his prime as a litany of injuries cost him what should have been some of the best years of his career.

Sturridge should still be proud of everything he’s achieved in the game, but if he could have stayed fit, we could have been talking about one of the best Premier League strikers ever.

The 32-year-old is now playing in Australia after being released by Liverpool back in 2019, and we can only hope he’s able to enjoy his football in the A-League.