Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge hopes team-mate Raheem Sterling will remain at the club and believes the 20-year-old will only be happy if he is playing regularly.
Sterling has put contract negotiations on hold until the end of the season after reportedly rejecting a new £100,000-a-week offer, although he insists the decision is not motivated by money.
The England international has been linked with a host of European heavyweights where he may not be guaranteed first-team football, and Sturridge feels that could be a defining factor when the contract saga concludes.
“I don’t know what Raheem wants to do but it is just important to be able to play regularly,” said the Reds’ striker.
“As long as he is playing regularly he will be happy – I don’t think it is anything to do with anything other than that and I hope he will stay at the club.”
Sturridge has experienced a similar dilemma before, having left Chelsea for Liverpool in January 2013 after being marginalised and deployed as a winger at Stamford Bridge.
“It is important to play games and gain experience so whatever decision he [Sterling] makes I am behind him 100 per cent," said the England striker
Sturridge formed a stunning partnership with Luis Suarez last season, scoring 24 league goals in a hugely profitable campaign, but this season has been badly curtailed by an injury that sidelined him for five months.
Since his return in January, Sturridge has acknowledged he has struggled to regain his sharpness with just four goals in 15 appearances and has received some criticism for his performances.
"It has taken time to get back into the groove. I have missed a lengthy time and gaining sharpness while playing games is not easy in a league like the Premier League - you can't ease yourself back in because the games are very fast," he added.
"It is the sharpness and fitness side of things. It takes a long time and that is the whole point of having a long pre-season.”
"I am looking forward to helping the team this season and towards next season I will be right back to where I was, because I would have had a pre-season I will be back to the sharpness and fitness levels I had before."
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