Cottee: Sturridge is not the answer for Hammers

West Ham should not be breaking the bank for Daniel Sturridge this summer, according to club legend Tony Cottee.

Cottee remains the last Hammers frontman to score 20 league goals in a season – all the way back in 1987.

And while both Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho have missed chunks of the campaign through injury – Cottee is not convinced by England striker Sturridge.

The 27-year-old appears to be surplus to requirements at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp but his own chequered injury history means he is not the right man for the Hammers – claims Cottee.

“We played without both Carroll and Sakho once again because of injury and this is a worrying trend,” he said.

(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“Every Premier League club needs four or five strikers during the season, but if two of those are injured as they have been for much of the season, then goals are going to be a real problem.

“I am a fan of both of them and would keep them next season, but I still think that we need to sign another top-quality striker. That can’t be Daniel Sturridge, who is another who has had serious injury problems. We can’t afford another one of those, but we need to find someone who is reliable and will score 20 goals in a season.

“I am the last person to have scored 20 goals in a top-flight season for the Hammers and that was back in 1987, so it is about time we found another who can do that.”