The Uruguay international has had an impressive season so far, though was guilty of two major misses in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Luton.
But Sturridge said on Monday Night Football: “I think he brings an excitement, an aggression in attack in terms of the runs he makes in behind.
“He’s an exciting player to watch and I think he is a defender’s nightmare. Of course one of the things that he has to improve on is his finishing and that will come with time. But I think in terms of the type of player he is, he is going to get a lot of opportunities in games based on the runs he makes.”
Sturridge went on to add: “It’s down to him and the coaches. Over time he will be able to improve his finishing. I remember when I was at Chelsea and [Carlo] Ancelotti told me: ‘Daniel, here is a DVD of [Filippo] Inzaghi. You don’t run in behind often. Watch this DVD.’ I remember after that I scored one goal in the Champions League a few weeks later and he was like: ‘That’s what I’m talking about. You made the run.’
“In terms of Darwin, he needs to be coached, he needs to do training sessions where he is making those runs at pace – and practicing particular types of finishes when he’s doing it at match tempo. It does seem like he’s not being composed and relaxing. He is smashing the leather off the ball sometimes.”
He concluded: “The Newcastle goals are a prime example. He’s got that in his locker – whipping it across the goalkeeper on the other side. It’s being relaxed and calm. Andy Cole used to say – caress the ball in the back of the net.
“It comes with analysing yourself first. Your shots. Looking and being critical of yourself. Then analysing other players. Why are they scoring? What are they doing different? You can ask some of the legends. I’m sure [Luis] Suarez would speak to him. Fernando Torres.
“The phone is open. He’s got Ian Rush in Liverpool where he can have conversations and learn about different types of finishes. I analysed so many guys. My finishing could have improved even more. No striker has every tool – but it’s about trying to have as many as you can. So when it comes to the moments, you can do damn near any of the finishes you want to do.
“It’s not about just saying ‘I want to smash it all the time’. That finish…unless you’ve perfected it like an Alan Shearer or maybe Harry Kane, people like that, [Jimmy Floyd] Hasselbaink…it’s very difficult to consistently hit the target with that type of finish. It’s more about what time of player you are in the end.
