City received some much welcomed good news as Daniel Sturridge opted to stay at Eastlands despite being chased by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
The 16 year old has signed a three year deal which will see him complete his stint at the Academy and also move to a professional contract when he turns 17.
Sturridge was one of the high-points in the recent Youth Cup defeat at the hands of Liverpool and he has been attracting rave reviews for his performances in City’s junior and reserve sides.
Signing Sturridge up is not only good news for the club, but also for the player. For once, it looks like the best interests of a young, rising star have been taken into account and he will now continue to develop and learn his trade in familiar surroundings amongst people who have nurtured his immense talent from an early age.
I’m sure a big money move to the Bridge or the Emirates Stadim could have been done, but the actions of the player, his agent and City should be widely applauded as it seems that the decision has not been purely driven by money and greed.
Time will tell if Sturridge fulfills his frightening potential; it’s by no means certain that precocious youngsters always develop into superstars, but hopefully he will. I seem to remember loads of hype about Crofty when he was at a similar age, but he has not found the transition from the junior to senior game something that just happens automatically, but hopefully he’ll blossom also – there’s still time.
As for young Sturridge, we’ll done lad, you’ve made the right decision and hopefully will avoid the mistakes made by SWP. Hopefully he’ll have a word with Micah and he’ll also realise where he’s best off at this stage of his career. Yes, we’ll probably lose Sturridge in time, but for now we should grateful that we’ll have him a few more years.
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