Sturridge Claims Brazilian Starlet Will Be A Top Player For Liverpool

January signings Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho have quickly slotted into life at Liverpool and the England striker is delighted with how quickly he has deleveloped an understanding with the Brazilian playmaker.

A failure to land a replacement striker for Andy Carroll in the summer, and incoming hitman Fabio Borini suffering ongoing injuries throughout the season, had left Brendan Rodgers relying heavily on Luis Suarez to provide the goals for Liverpool.

But with Sturridge and Coutinho both coming into the fray in January,Sturridge insists that playing at his best at Liverpool has been made even easier by being alongside Coutinho.

"Philippe is such a quality player," he told the Liverpool Echo. "He has created goals for me four or five times already since he has been here.

"It's fantastic to be playing with someone of his calibre. I can't praise him highly enough for what he's shown. I want to say thanks to Philippe because he has made my job very easy.

"He has been very unselfish. He has put me in on goal many times and it's just fantastic to work with him."

Sturridge played for both Manchester City and Chelsea before making the move to Liverpool, while Coutinho plied his trade most recently at Inter Milan and Espanyol.

And the England international says that he understood from the first day at Liverpool that he had a lot to prove, but for Coutinho it would be even harder settling into a new culture.

"Philippe is younger than me but he has a lot to prove just like I have," he explained. "We have both come from big clubs where we haven't had the opportunity to play week in week out.

"We are both hungry to show everybody what we are capable of doing.

"Coming to a new country and a different league, it's very difficult to do what he has done in such a short space of time, but it's great to see."

Sturridge and Coutinho have assisted Liverpool in a massive boost in the second half of the season; in fact, the side have amassed just six points less than title winners Manchester United since January. The pair have certainly given Rodgers more depth in his attacking line-up, and should the side strengthen further in the summer their reliance on Suarez will be even less obvious.