CalcioMercato (don’t you just love them?) have caused a stir today, claiming West Ham, Sunderland and Stoke are all keen on ‘unsettled’ Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge.

What’s the story?

Sturridge was dropped from Klopp’s starting XI on Saturday and reports allege that he could be on his way out of Anfield before too long. CalcioMercato claim Sunderland, Stoke and West Ham are all keen on the England international and that a January move ‘could’ happen.

Is it nonsense?

We don’t want to have a real dig at CalcioMercato, but it’s hard to take a two-sentence report at a grand total of 33 words seriously - especially when it’s accompanied by a picture from the 2014/15 season!

Alas, there is some fuel being poured onto the fire regarding Sturridge, who doesn’t seem to be Klopp’s favoured centre-forward - with Roberto Firmino often selected ahead of him. Injuries have played their part in the perception that the 27-year-old cannot be trusted and while there are no real suggestions that Klopp doesn’t value him to the extent he perhaps should, it’s not a giant leap of faith to buy into speculation of not all being well on Merseyside.

Caption this... A photo posted by Daniel Sturridge - Dstudge (@iamdanielsturridge) on

Klopp’s no fool, is he?

It's really hard to see Klopp letting Sturridge go in January. The opening weeks of the current season have been tricky for Liverpool, playing a host of big teams away from home. These matches have leant themselves to a front three full of pressing and energy, and it perhaps wouldn’t be as big a story had Sturridge been dropped every few weeks for the ‘big game’ plan that Klopp seems to have. Indeed, it’s telling that he’s started against Burnley and at home to Leicester (an injury niggle kept him from the XI in the win over Hull), suggesting he’s seen as the striker for the ‘smaller’ games - a flat-track bully, if you will.

Would Sturridge want to leave?

Of the mooted three teams, it’s hard to see Sturridge being swayed. Stoke? Near bottom of the league and looking like a sinking ship. Sunderland? Likely to be entrenched in their usual survival scrap. West Ham? More appealing in that they have loftier ambitions, but the uncertainty surrounding Slaven Bilic doesn’t look like going away anytime soon. If a team of Spurs’ quality were keen, on the other hand, it may be a slightly different story, though.