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Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is reportedly on a list of players being eyed by Chinese Super League clubs who are willing to offer a salary of £41.6m to a high-profile English footballer.
According to the Daily Mail – who do not namecheck any specific clubs as potential buyers – “the Chinese” believe that recruiting a major England star will add credibility to the CSL.
Wayne Rooney, 31, and John Terry, 36, have both been linked with moves to the Far East and, although both are still said to be on the radar, the Mail suggest that CSL clubs are prioritising a younger model, with 27-year-old Sturridge short-listed, along with Ross Barkley, 23, Dele Alli, 20, and Harry Kane, 23.
These players would all be likely to land vast pay-rises were they to swap England for China, with the CSL prepared to pay £800,000 a week to a top Englishman, per the Mail.
Sturridge currently earns a weekly wage of £120,000 at Anfield, based on figures published by the Daily Star last year. Therefore, he could be in line for a 566% jump in pay if this wild speculation were to materialise.