Daniel Sturridge’s loan move to West Brom was exciting for the Baggies, but it ended up being rather disappointing.
Key Takeaways
- West Brom’s 2017/18 season was marred by inconsistency and managerial changes, leading to their relegation from the Premier League.
- Despite excitement surrounding Daniel Sturridge’s loan move, injuries limited his impact, with the Baggies failing to secure his intended goals.
- Sturridge’s brief stint at West Brom ended in disappointment, highlighting the risks involved in bringing in experienced but injury-prone players.
West Bromwich Albion spent eight consecutive seasons in the Premier League but that came to an end in 2018.
The 2017/18 Premier League campaign was a season to forget for West Brom as they managed to pick up just six league wins and 31 points, which saw them finish bottom of the table and suffer relegation alongside Stoke City and Swansea City.
It was a season full of inconsistency and managerial changes, which meant that the team just could not get going. Tony Pulis started the season in charge but was sacked by November despite signing a one-year contract extension at the start of the season. Alan Pardew then took over a week later but he lasted just four months before parting ways with the club after they lost eight consecutive league games.
Darren Moore took over as caretaker and did a fantastic job, going unbeaten in April and picking up a 1-0 win over Man United at Old Trafford, but this was not enough to secure safety, as the damage had already been done.
Several new signings were brought in that season, but many of them struggled to really get going at the Hawthorns. One of those signings was well-known English striker, Daniel Sturridge, who arrived with plenty of expectation.
Daniel Sturridge arrived with Premier League pedigree
When Sturridge arrived at the Hawthorns in January 2018, he had already scored 75 Premier League goals in his career – a player with proven top-flight pedigree.
The Englishman started his career at Manchester City, where he scored a handful of goals, before moving to Chelsea, where he started slowly but began to fire in regular goals on loan at Bolton Wanderers.
Eventually, he earned a move to Liverpool, and this is where Sturridge truly found his shooting boots. 22 goals and seven assists in just 26 Premier League starts in the 2013/14 season was a phenomenal achievement and saw him recognised as one of the best strikers in the league.
Away from club football, Sturridge made a name for himself for the Three Lions, scoring eight goals for his country and representing them at the Euros and the World Cup, as well as representing Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.
Unfortunately, due to suffering injuries, he became a squad player at Anfield and his goals were drying up, hence a loan move further down the division to struggling West Brom.
Sturridge’s time at West Brom was a disaster
The striker’s loan move to West Brom was a late one and was made shortly before the January deadline, but the announcement came with plenty of excitement as the Baggies had signed a big-name striker in the hopes of solving their short-term issues.
Unfortunately, the move did not go as planned. Sturridge managed just two starts for the Baggies and four cameos off the bench but spent the rest of his time either on the bench or out through injury.
One of his starts for West Brom was against his former club Chelsea, but he managed to play just four minutes before suffering an injury and being substituted.
The Baggies will look back on this loan move with real regret, as despite it being a short-term loan deal, it certainly was not cheap. The club reportedly paid a fee of £2 million to bring him in on loan, as well as paying his full wages.
On the face of it, bringing in such an experienced Premier League goalscorer was exciting, but taking his injuries into account, the loan move turned out to be a disaster and will be one that the Baggies will want to forget, as he failed to score a single goal.
Albion did not get a return on their investment and may still feel that had they brought in a forward that had found the net regularly, they may have avoided the drop.
