Liverpool has confirmed that striker Daniel Sturridge and defender Alberto Moreno will depart the club this summer at the expiration of their contracts, while Everton captain Phil Jagielka is also set to depart Merseyside after 12 years with the Toffees.
Both Liverpool had seen their playing time decrease over the past few seasons, as injuries and poor form took their toll.
Sturridge joined Liverpool in January of 2013 from Chelsea and made an immediate impact, scoring 10 goals in 14 games to finish the 2012/13 season before logging a massive 22 goals in 29 league appearances the following year. However, injury problems began to set in, and Sturridge struggled to find the field consistently from that point on, dealing with constant hip and hamstring issues. The England international topped the 20 appearance mark just once from 2014 on, seeing time in 18 Premier League matches in the most recent campaign, mostly as a substitute. The 29-year-old finishes his Reds career with 160 appearances across all competitions, scoring 68 goals and assisting 26 more.
Moreno, still just 26 years old, joined Liverpool from his boyhood club Sevilla in the summer of 2014 and was a first-team regular for two years, making 50 Premier League appearances in his first two seasons with the club, including 32 of them during Jurgen Klopp’s first season with the club. He was replaced, however, by James Milner at left-back in the 2016/17 season and while he returned to first-team action to start the 2017/18 campaign, an ankle injury in December ended that run and he never regained his place in the side. The rise of Andy Robertson in the Liverpool squad confirmed Moreno’s status as a backup, and he made just two Premier League appearances last season.
“The most important words to say to these two remarkable players is ‘thank you’” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “They were here when I arrived as manager and during that period they - as much as anyone - helped to establish us as a team that would be heading in the right direction. Without them we wouldn’t be the team and club we are in this moment.”
Everton is also set to lose a longtime player as Phil Jagielka confirmed his departure. With the 36-year-old’s contract set to expire this summer and just seven Premier League appearances last season, he is set to leave the club he joined in 2007 from Sheffield United and captained for the last six seasons.
“All I can say is thanks to all the players I’ve played alongside, all the staff that have helped me in their own way, the chairman and of course the amazing fans,” Jagielka wrote on Instagram. “Wishing everyone associated with this special clubs the very best for the future!”
Jagielka accumulated 385 appearances for the club over his 12-year career, scoring 19 goals and assisting 11 more. He made at least 25 Premier League appearances in nine of his 12 seasons at the club, with his 2014/15 campaign amassing 37 appearances and four goals as Everton finished 10th, winning the club’s Goal of the Season award that year for an equalizing stoppage-time howitzer against derby rivals Liverpool. He won Premier League Player of the Month in February 2009 and was twice Everton’s Player of the Season.