Daniel Sturridge has named a two-time winner of the PFA Player of the Year award as the greatest Premier League player of all time.
Daniel Sturridge may not be in the conversation when it comes to all-time Premier League greats, but his playing career had many highlights. Sturridge is a two-time Champions League winner with Chelsea and Liverpool. He also won the Premier League and two FA Cups with Chelsea.
Sturridge’s individual performances are not that impressive. However, he was still named in the 2013/14 PFA Team of the Year and won two Premier League Player of the Month awards.
The retired striker has never claimed to be one of the Premier League’s best players. Instead, he has heaped praise on a former Arsenal striker who collected personal accolades for fun.
Sturridge was asked by Days away if Thierry Henry was the best Premier League player of all time. As the ex-Liverpool striker had previously called Henry his idol, his answer came as no surprise.
Sturridge said: “I think so. You know, when it’s all said and done, who knows.”
“I think Thierry has inspired so many centre-forwards and strikers around the world to, you know, be flexible in terms of position, in terms of finding a go-to finish that they can achieve on the football pitch.
“He had the class, he had the charisma, he had that atmosphere and that look. Went to the US, tore it up, goals and assists as you would expect from a legend, an icon like himself, and an exemplary career, won so many trophies and all that.”
Sturridge is not only a fan of who Henry was as a player, but also who he is as an individual.
“I can’t talk about the man enough,” Sturridge continued. “He inspired me to not only be a professional, but also who I have become today. Yes, an all-round top man.”
Naming every award won by Henry would take some time. The French goal machine won the Golden Boot four seasons in a row and was named UEFA Team of the Year five times.
It is clear how much Henry inspired Sturridge. Shortly before his move to Liverpool, Sturridge told The Standard that he believed playing out wide would help him improve. He drew a comparison with Henry, who played on the wing for Juventus before returning to striker at Arsenal.
Sturridge did play a few games on the wing for Liverpool, but like Henry he returned to the central striker position. This allowed him to be a serious goalscoring threat, leading to his best season, when he scored 22 Premier League goals and registered seven assists for the Anfield team.
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