Welcome Sturridge!

Daniel Sturridge became the first Chelsea signing this season. Its lucky to have him as many of the other signings seems to face some stumbling block: Alonso, Tevez, Ribery and Johnson alike. Here is a little about Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Andre Sturridge, better known as Daniel Sturridge, was born on September 1, 1989 in Birmingham, England. He studied at the Friary School in Lichfield following which, he attended Congleton High School. Football was not new to him as his cousins, Chris Packer and Hayley Packer, played football. He is also the nephew of Dean Sturridge, former Derby County Football Club (F.C.) forward, and Simon Sturridge, ex-Birmingham City player.

Daniel Sturridge was a part of the England national under-17 football team, and has scored in several matches, including the finals against Italy at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Under-17 Championship. He made a total of 5 goals in his six appearances for the team. On March 27, 2007, Daniel Sturridge scored twice for England's Under-18 side against Holland at Huish Park, Yeovil and escalated to the England national under-19 football team in 2008 and has played 3 matches and scored a goal for it as of August 2008.

Daniel Sturridge started his career in football at Aston Villa and in 2002, at the age of 12, he switched to Coventry City F.C. as a youth player. When he was 13, he was sponsored by the German sports apparel manufacturer Adidas. He stayed with Coventry for 14 months and later joined the youth club of Manchester City in 2003 and continued there for three seasons. His stunning performance in the Football Association (FA) Cup attracted the interest of many clubs, such as, Chelsea F.C.

In September 2006 Daniel Sturridge became a part of Manchester City’s senior team by signing a three-year contract. His first team and FA Premier League début for the team came on February 3, 2007, when he came in as a substitute in the 74th minute in a match against Reading at the City of Manchester Stadium. With this Daniel Sturridge became the youngest player to make a first-team appearance in the Premiership in 2007. He netted his first goal, a brilliant volley, for Manchester City on January 27, 2008 on his FA Cup debut in the 4th round match against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. His first goal in the Premiership came on January 30, 2008 in a clash against Derby County, and he went to become the youngest player in Europe to score that day.

On February 13, 2008, his brace contributed to a 4-2 victory for Manchester City over Bristol City at the FA Youth Cup 5th round. Daniel Sturridge not only led the Blues to the Youth Cup Title but also finished as the leading goal scorer of the competition with 7 goals in 6 games.

Daniel Sturridge is the only player to score in the Youth Cup final, the FA Cup, and the Premier league in the same season. At 14, he also became the leading goal scorer and was voted the most valuable player (MVP) at the prestigious U15 Nike Cup. This striker was named as the 'Next Big Thing' in British football by Match magazine’s in its ‘Annual 2007’, becoming the second player to bag this title, behind Theo Walcott, former England Youths strike partner