West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has all-but ruled out a move for Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, citing his injury history as a big problem.
As per The Mirror, the Hammers had been linked with a swoop for the England international in the January transfer window in order to add much-needed firepower to their squad.
With Sturridge struggling to feature at Anfield with just 11 appearances in all competitions and a total of only 495 minutes of playing time so far this season, a move elsewhere could have been an ideal solution for all concerned.
However, Bilic has now cast major doubt on making a move for the 27-year-old, as the argument he gave is given strength by the fact that Sturridge will not feature at Anfield against his side on Sunday as he’s set to miss a fourth straight game with a calf injury.
“He is a good player, one of the biggest talents if you can call him a talent any more,” Bilic said.
“The only thing that stopped him being a regular in the club and the national team, is injury. He has shown what he can be over a period of five years. But 50 times in five years, is that enough?
“I don’t know him in person, I don’t know the extent of his dedication to his job, but unfortunately for England and for Liverpool he is injured and that is his problem.”
Sturridge has consistently been dogged by injury problems, as he made just 12 and 14 Premier League appearances in total in the last two seasons respectively, while he’s managed 30 on just one previous occasion when with Chelsea in 2011/12.
That simply isn’t good enough and unless he can prove his fitness and avoid injury problems moving forward, he may well be stuck as a fringe player for the rest of his career.