Liverpool great Graeme Souness has accused Daniel Sturridge of failing to give his all for the club, insisting that his preparation before games is "pathetic".
The 27-year-old has endured a series of niggling injuries since joining the Reds from Chelsea four years ago, while also struggling to truly win over boss Jurgen Klopp.
Sturridge was handed just 11 starts last season, leading to suggestions that he could be on his way during the summer if an offer is tabled.
Klopp praised the England international's fitness levels earlier this week, however, claiming that he is in impressive shape ahead of the new campaign, but Souness believes that an attitude change is required if Sturridge is to get his career back on track.
"If Daniel Sturridge didn't have these issues of keeping fit, he'd be the first name on the team sheet," he told talkSPORT. "I think he's got amazing qualities, but he just can't get himself fit. I saw a game towards the end of the season and the camera panned on Sturridge and it showed him warming up, and it was pathetic.
"He wasn't stretching properly, he was just going through the motions. If that's him preparing for a game, if he's like that every day in training, you've got to get that right first of all. That's the first thing I'd look at – his training. You can get away with it in other positions, but not as a striker, when you've got to be bang at it and be explosive from the very first minute – something is going to go.
"I'm watching this kid warm up and I'm thinking, that just might be his problem. Try and get that right first, warm up properly, train properly, because the boy has exceptional talent and there are very few people out there with that kind of ability. Because where does he go after this?
"He's been at big clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea before. If you're thinking about him, you could watch him on any given day and think 'wow, what a player'. But look at his stats – he doesn't play enough games."
Sturridge featured for 48 minutes in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday morning.
Daniel Lewis
