The expected arrival of Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz at Manchester City may be a demoralising prospect for most young strikers trying to break through at the club, but Daniel Sturridge is adamant that he will welcome the competition.
Sturridge, 19, underlined his burgeoning potential in the draw away to Blackburn Rovers in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday when he came off the substitutes’ bench to inspire a City comeback, scoring with a rasping volley to make it 2-1 before setting up Robinho for a last-gasp equaliser.
Mark Hughes is hopeful of tying Sturridge to a new long-term contract “in the next week” after expressing dismay that the club allowed the teenager’s present deal to run into its final six months, but while that will not prevent the City manager from spending heavily in the transfer window, Sturridge is confident that he can secure a regular place in the first team.
“I know the club might buy players in January, but that doesn’t worry me,” Sturridge said. “I’m willing to fight for my minutes on the pitch. What every player wants is to play with world-class players and I’m no different. It doesn’t matter to me what reputation players have, my aim is to show I am as good as them. Hopefully, in years to come, I might be considered a world-class player.”
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Hughes remains confident of signing Bellamy, the West Ham United striker with whom he worked at Blackburn and for Wales, and Scott Parker, the England midfield player, despite having a £15 million bid for the pair rejected on Sunday.
An improved offer of £18 million is expected, with Parker thought to be favoured over Marcos Senna, the Villarreal and Spain midfield player. Hughes could also lodge a £17 million bid for Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker who is eager to leave Blackburn.
Although Hughes’s main concern is to bolster his attack and sign a defensive midfield player, the manager also wants to buy a centre half — Kolo Touré, of Arsenal, and Joleon Lescott, of Everton, are firm targets — and a left back. Wayne Bridge, of Chelsea, would be Hughes’s first choice.
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