[2] Sturridge was scouted by Aston Villa and played for a number of years in their younger academy sides before moving to Coventry City in 2002.

After a successful spell at Bolton, scoring eight goals in 12 appearances, he returned to Chelsea for the 2011–12 season, winning the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

He made his debut for the senior team against Denmark in November 2011 and was selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016, earning 26 England caps in total.

[5] Daniel Sturridge began his football career at the age of seven at local club Cadbury Athletic, before being scouted, and subsequently signed by the youth academy of Aston Villa.

[6][8] A Football League committee later ordered Manchester City to pay Coventry £30,000 compensation, with further payments up to a maximum of £170,000 based upon appearances and international honours.

The Professional Football Compensation Committee decided on 14 January 2010 that Chelsea would pay an initial fee of £3.5 million, with additional payments of £500,000 after each of 10, 20, 30 and 40 appearances.

[30] Sturridge continued to show his ability with a real poacher's effort in a 2–0 victory in the FA Cup against Preston North End, scoring his third goal for Chelsea in January.

[36] He made his debut two days later, coming on as a substitute at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring his first goal in the process, an injury time winner.

Despite rumours linking him with a move away on deadline day, Sturridge remained in West London amidst strong support from his manager André Villas-Boas, who said, "He would have been playing if he was not suspended from last season."

[48][49] On 22 December, during Chelsea's away clash with Tottenham, he scored his ninth goal in the 2011–12 domestic season, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw away at White Hart Lane.

[citation needed] Sturridge missed all of Chelsea's pre-season matches to begin the 2012–13 campaign, as he was on duty with Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

He did, however, play against Manchester City in the 2012 FA Community Shield, assisting Ryan Bertrand's goal, by shooting and Costel Pantilimon spilling it.

[citation needed] On 2 January 2013, Sturridge completed a move from Chelsea to Liverpool, signing a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £12 million.

[55] Sturridge scored his third goal for Liverpool in his first league start and home debut for the club, a 5–0 win against Norwich City at Anfield on 19 January.

[57] Sturridge continued this run of form on 17 February, with an assist for teammate José Enrique, as well as scoring a penalty against Swansea City in a 5–0 win, having missed the prior two matches due to a combination of ineligibility and injury.

[68] He went on to become only the second player in Premier League history to score eight matches in a row after a brace against Swansea City in a 4–3 home win.

[79] After missing close to five months, Sturridge made his return to the team on 31 January in a 2–0 win over West Ham as a 68th-minute substitute for Lazar Marković, scoring in the 87th minute after a through ball from Philippe Coutinho.

[81] Sturridge's injury-plagued season continued when he picked up a hip injury on 22 March in a 2–1 loss to rivals Manchester United, despite scoring Liverpool's lone goal.

[83] After missing the first five matches of Liverpool's Premier League campaign due to injury, Sturridge made his first appearance of the season against Norwich City on 20 September 2015.

[90] 14 days later, he started in the 2016 League Cup final loss to Manchester City, playing the full 120 minutes as Liverpool were defeated in a penalty shoot-out.

[citation needed] Sturridge began the season as an understudy to Roberto Firmino and generally came off the bench during the second half in league matches.

[97] Sturridge started in the fourth round of the EFL Cup against Tottenham on 25 October and scored a brace in a 2–1 win for Liverpool at Anfield.

[107] On 26 September, he scored the opening goal against his former club Chelsea in the EFL Cup third round, though Liverpool eventually lost the match 1–2.

[117] Perth chairman and owner Tony Sage described the signing as one of the biggest in A-League history,[118] while Sturridge said he hadn't joined the club for "a holiday".

On 11 October, he scored another goal in England's qualification campaign, an injury-time penalty in a 4–1 win over Montenegro after he had been fouled by Ivan Kecojević.

[135] However, he made a full recovery meaning he could take part and he scored his first goal for Great Britain in the second group match, a 3–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates.

[140] On 14 June, Sturridge started England's opening match of the tournament and scored the team's goal in a 2–1 defeat by Italy in Manaus.

His ability to still drop between lines and pull wide and attack defences, similar to former strike partner Luis Suárez's playing-style, has led to Rodgers describing him as "what I call a 'nine-and-a-half".

In November 2012, while playing for Chelsea, he presented a cheque for €50,000 on behalf of Hyundai to Street League, a charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged players across Europe get into football.

[150] Later that same month, Sturridge opened his charity foundation named after him in Portmore, Jamaica, with its aim to help youngsters there get into sport and entertainment.