Sturridge, who has established himself as one of England’s brightest young talents, only joined Liverpool recently. It is believed that a primary factor in the move between the two rivals was Sturridge’s frustration at being continually deployed down the wings instead of a more central position, although the 23-year-old denied the assertion in the immediate aftermath of the move. Luckily for the striker, Rodgers appears keen to give him that licence as the Northern Irishman indicated that Suarez could be instructed to play in a support role if he feels it would be in the best interests of the team.
The new Liverpool buy would have to work quite hard to establish his credentials, though, as Suarez has been in superb form this season. The Uruguayan international has already scored 15 Premier League goals. On Wednesday, he also combined excellently with Raheem Sterling to terrorise the Sunderland defence during Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Anfield.
But the ex-Chelsea coach understands that Sturridge could be at his deadly best as a main striker and feels Suarez might have to adapt to accomodate his new team-mate. “For the common good of the team [Suarez could be moved],” Rodgers told the Guardian. “I spoke with Luis at length on it a number of times. This has been in the plan for a few months.
“When he played at Ajax he played in behind as a No10, in between the lines, and he played as a reverse winger from the left side so he wasn’t quite out wide – he was tucked in round the corner. “Wherever he plays he will make the same movements and he will find the space because he is a world class player.” “Daniel’s best position is as a central striker. I have said that 4-3-3 will become richer because of the type of players. There is not one way to play 4-3-3. “You can have one up and two wingers, a floating nine like Luis Suárez, you can have one like Daniel Sturridge central, two in and around him narrow with full backs bombing on. “The principles of your game are based on your players.