Sturridge concern

"The problem is that his contract length isn't great and that is a situation that has been allowed to happen before I got here for whatever reason.

"We are trying to address that. We are being honest with the player and his agents and they understand the position we and they are in.
"We are obviously doing our best to keep Daniel.

"People have to understand we place a market value on players in terms of transfer fees and wages."

>>MEN.

An interesting last sentence from the quotation from Mark Hughes, and given the takeover I'm not wholly convinced that is the case in general - but may exist to a degree for players who by and large have yet to prove themselves.

There have always been rumours linking Sturridge with a move away from the club since he first rose to prominence as the 'next big thing', but although I believe he should have featured more I don't see him angling for a move away to a club for more regular football at this stage.

Equally, I don't see the attraction of him joining a side such as Chelsea for example where he is even less likely to feature than he would do for ourselves.

We have done a good job in nailing down the Academy players to long deals with the exception of Sturridge, and for that it may well have to do more on his (and his representatives) part than the club.

I don't see him penning a new deal before the turn of the year, but would expect him to ultimately sign a long-term deal - but depending on events in the January transfer window could that be enough to maybe sway him towards a move away?