Judging by the way Daniel Sturridge has been portrayed and discussed over the last few weeks, you would think he doesn’t even move a muscle on the pitch.
Give the man a break.
England manager Gareth Southgate has put his faith in Sturridge as his main number nine and has been quick to praise the striker in response to those that have suggested he doesn’t work for his team.
In today’s press conference, Southgate told BBC Sport: “He is a goalscorer, a talented player and his mentality to working with us has been excellent. Every striker has a slightly different way of playing and he has some brilliant footwork, he likes to drop into different areas of the field.”
“He works for the team, he wants to be part of the team. All goalscorers are slightly individual but I don’t see any more of that in Daniel than any other forward.”
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Finally, someone has turned a focus towards Sturridge’s strengths.
He is England’s most gifted striker and is more than worthy of a place in Southgate’s best eleven.
No other Premier League striker appears to be criticised as regularly as Sturridge is at the moment and he doesn’t deserve it.
Far too many people are fuelling the idea that he isn’t prepared to work hard for the team, whilst overlooking the undeniable attacking threat that he has, more often than not, posed when he has played this season.
Whether it has been him coming on as a substitute or him playing from the very start, he has always been close to the action and an ever-present goal threat.