Daniel Andre "Danny" Sturridge (born 1 September 1989) is an English footballer who plays for Chelsea as a striker. Part of a footballing family, Sturridge started his professional career at Manchester City, where he played in two FA Youth Cup finals. He made his first team debut in 2007, and scored his first goal in January 2008. Over the course of 2007–08 season, Sturridge became the only player ever to score in the FA Youth Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in the same season. Mainly used as an impact substitute at Manchester City, he left the club in 2009 after failing to agree a new contract, and signed for Chelsea.
Contents [hide]
1 Club career
1.1 Manchester City
1.2 Chelsea
2 International career
3 Career statistics
4 Honours
5 References
6 External links
[edit]Club career

[edit]Manchester City
Sturridge began his career at local club Aston Villa before moving to Coventry City in 2002, from where he joined Manchester City's Academy in 2003, aged 13.[2] A Football League committee later ordered Manchester City to pay Coventry £30,000 compensation, with further payments up to a maximum of £200,000 based upon appearances and international honours.[3] The following year, he was the leading scorer and voted player of the season (the only other person to achieve this was Argentine footballer Carlos Tévez) as City won the Nike Cup, the world's largest under-15 tournament.[4] At 16, he played for Manchester City Youth during their 2006 FA Youth Cup run. The youngest player in the side, he scored four goals en route to the final,[5] and another two in the final, though they were insufficient to prevent a 3–2 aggregate defeat to Liverpool.[6] That summer, he signed his first professional contract, which came into effect when he turned 17.[7]
From the start of the 2006–07 season, Sturridge began to train with the City first team. A hat-trick in a reserve match was rewarded by a place on the substitutes' bench for the senior side's match with Reading in February 2007.[2] He duly made his debut from the bench, replacing Georgios Samaras for the final quarter-hour.[8] He made a second substitute appearance a month later, but then suffered a hip injury which sidelined him for the remainder of 2007.[9]
He scored his first goal for City on 27 January 2008 in an FA Cup match against Sheffield United, followed three days later by his first league goal on his full debut, against Derby County.[10] However, first team opportunities were sporadic, so Sturridge continued to play for the youth team in the FA Youth Cup. City again reached the final, with Sturridge the leading scorer in the competition.[11] This time City won the final, with Sturridge scoring in the first leg.[12] In the 2007–08 season, Sturridge became the only player ever to score in the Youth FA Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League in the same season.[13]
As of 1 May 2009, after 16 appearances in the 2008–09 Premier League season, Sturridge had scored four goals and provided three assists.[14] At the end of the 2008–09 season, the Manchester City fans voted Sturridge as the Manchester City Young Player of the Season, in which he dedicated the award to his family and his uncle Dean.