Liverpool will offer Daniel Sturridge an enormous pay rise to stop any resentment he may have following Luis Suarez’s £200k a week wage rise.
Sturridge was on £70k a week, which compared to his Uruguayan strike partner’s is less than favourable from the England international’s point of view. The ex-Chelsea striker took a pay cut when he made a move to Anfield, but his sensational form has helped Liverpool to second place in the table and Sturridge is almost a certainty to board the plane to Brazil.
Now Sturridge, who scored yesterday in Liverpool’s 6-3 win over Cardiff, will see his wages double to £140k a week, a price worth paying for a man who has 19 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League alone this season.
Liverpool chiefs worry however that a successful World Cup for the 24 year old may see him a wanted man throughout Europe and the Kop faithful would not want to see any tempting offers turn Sturridge’s head.
Fellow England international Jordan Henderson is also hopeful of a pay rise but full-back Glen Johnson, also looking to make England’s world cup squad this summer, may not be so fortunate.
Johnson, who currently earns £100k a week has just one year left on his Liverpool contract, but at 29, may find an impressive new offer from the Reds difficult to come by.
By Phil Wellbrook